Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ashland you can determine when it's possible to plant oriental poppies by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Ashland 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ashland. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ashland 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 Ashland it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your oriental poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ashland

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