When to Plant Oriental poppies in La Grande, OR

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 best time to plant oriental poppies in La Grande can be determined by reviewing 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 well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oriental poppies
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oriental poppies
Probably not a good time to plant oriental poppies

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in La Grande 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 really do well. 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

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for La Grande is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in La Grande last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your oriental poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Grande

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 Low0°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 La Grande

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Grande.