One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 Montpelier can be reffered to in order to estimate when you can plant poppies.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Since poppies are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Montpelier 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Montpelier. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Montpelier and it is different every year. Half of the time in Montpelier there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Montpelier

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Montpelier

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