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.

In South Houston you can determine when to plant california poppy by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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.

Since california poppy are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in South Houston 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your california poppy may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in South Houston. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Houston is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in South Houston last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Houston

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 South Houston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Houston.