When to Plant California Poppy in Tarentum, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Tarentum you can determine when it's the best time to plant california poppy by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for California Poppy

Frost tolerance for california poppy: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since california poppy are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant california poppy
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant california poppy
Probably not a good time to plant california poppy

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Tarentum is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Tarentum. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tarentum is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Tarentum you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your california poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tarentum

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 Tarentum

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