The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Raton you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant oriental poppies by using the USDA zone info.

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 ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Raton 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your oriental poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Raton. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Raton is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Raton it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your oriental poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Raton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Raton

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