Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant poppies by referring to the USDA zone info for Morganton.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Poppies tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Morganton 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your poppies may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Morganton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Morganton is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Morganton you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Morganton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Morganton

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