When to Plant Oriental poppies in Martinsville, VA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when to plant oriental poppies by checking out the USDA zone info for Martinsville.


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 moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant oriental poppies
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant oriental poppies
Probably not a good time to plant oriental poppies

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Martinsville 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. Any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Martinsville. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Martinsville is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Martinsville there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your oriental poppies if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Martinsville

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Martinsville

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