One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant oriental poppies is to check out the USDA zone info for Dunkirk.

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 can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dunkirk and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Dunkirk you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your oriental poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dunkirk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Dunkirk

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