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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant california poppy is to look at the USDA zone info for Missouri City.

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 barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Missouri City 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 california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Missouri City. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember 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 Missouri City and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Missouri City you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your california poppy in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Missouri City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Missouri City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Missouri City.