One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Cleveland you can estimate when it's possible to plant oriental poppies by referring to 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.

You can plant oriental poppies a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Cleveland 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your oriental poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Cleveland. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Cleveland may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cleveland you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your oriental poppies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cleveland

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 Cleveland

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