One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when you can plant oriental poppies by using the USDA zone info for San Marcos.

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 tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in San Marcos 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 fully mature. If you are starting your oriental poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for San Marcos may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in San Marcos you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your oriental poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Marcos

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 San Marcos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Marcos.