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.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant oriental poppies by reviewing the USDA zone info for Midlothian.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

Frost tolerance for oriental poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since oriental poppies are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Midlothian 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. If you wait 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Midlothian the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Midlothian is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Midlothian it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Midlothian

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Midlothian

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