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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant california poppy is to refer to the USDA zone info for Chattanooga.

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.

You can plant california poppy slightly earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Chattanooga 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chattanooga. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chattanooga and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chattanooga there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your california poppy if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chattanooga

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Chattanooga

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