The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant california poppy in Billings should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for California Poppy

Frost tolerance for california poppy:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since california poppy are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Billings is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your california poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Billings. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Billings is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Billings it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Billings

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Billings

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Billings.