Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when you can plant poppies in Mechanicsburg by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Since poppies are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Mechanicsburg 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mechanicsburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mechanicsburg last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mechanicsburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mechanicsburg

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