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.

The USDA zone info for Stafford should be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant poppies.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Poppies do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Stafford 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Stafford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stafford and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Stafford you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your poppies if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Stafford

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 Stafford

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