One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when you can plant oriental poppies is to consult the USDA zone info for Hamilton.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

Frost tolerance for oriental poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oriental poppies do well in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Hamilton is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oriental poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Hamilton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Hamilton is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Hamilton last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hamilton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hamilton

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