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 estimate when it's possible to plant california poppy by reviewing the USDA zone info for Lafayette.

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.

California Poppy can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Lafayette 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. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Lafayette. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lafayette may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lafayette last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your california poppy if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

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 Lafayette

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