The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Mesquite should be read to determine when it's the best time to plant oriental poppies.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Since oriental poppies do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Mesquite 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. Any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your oriental poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Mesquite. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mesquite is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mesquite it frosts late in the year after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mesquite

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mesquite

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