One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Kalispell it's a good idea to estimate when to plant poppies.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Since poppies do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Kalispell 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Kalispell the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Kalispell and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Kalispell it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Kalispell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Kalispell

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