One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when to plant california poppy is to look at the USDA zone info for Vernal.

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.

California Poppy do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Vernal is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. 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 little bit earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Vernal the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Vernal is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Vernal last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your california poppy if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vernal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Vernal

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