Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant poppies in Rockdale by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Poppies tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Rockdale. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rockdale is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockdale you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rockdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Rockdale

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