When to Plant California Poppy in Great Falls, MT

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

The USDA zone info for Great Falls can be reffered to in order to determine when it's possible to plant california poppy.


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.

You can plant california poppy slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant california poppy
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant california poppy
Probably not a good time to plant california poppy

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Great Falls 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. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Great Falls the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Great Falls is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Great Falls you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your california poppy if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Great Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Great Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Great Falls.