One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Bellevue it's a good idea to figure out when to plant california poppy.

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.

Since california poppy are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Bellevue 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. Starting your california poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bellevue the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bellevue may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bellevue you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your california poppy if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bellevue

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Bellevue

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