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When to Plant California Poppy in Yankton, SD

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

You should be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant california poppy by checking out the USDA zone info for Yankton.


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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly 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 Yankton 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 fully mature. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Yankton. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always 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 Yankton and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Yankton you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Yankton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Yankton

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