One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Culpeper you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant california poppy by using 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.

California Poppy do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Culpeper 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. If you wait any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your california poppy indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Culpeper. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Culpeper is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Culpeper it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Culpeper

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 Culpeper

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