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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant oriental poppies is to refer to the USDA zone info for Nederland.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Oriental poppies are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Nederland 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. Any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Nederland the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Nederland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Nederland you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Nederland

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 Nederland

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