The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Mission you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant oriental poppies.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

You can plant oriental poppies a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Mission is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your oriental poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Mission. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mission may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mission you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your oriental poppies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Mission

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