One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Gering can be reviewed to estimate 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 a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Gering is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 really do well. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gering. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gering is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gering you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your california poppy in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gering

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 Gering

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