One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Tamaqua can be used to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Oriental poppies do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Tamaqua 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. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Tamaqua. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Tamaqua is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tamaqua you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tamaqua

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Tamaqua

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