When to Plant Poppies in Bellevue, WA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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 it's possible to plant poppies by reviewing the USDA zone info for Bellevue.


Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Since poppies do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Bellevue 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 poppies and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Bellevue. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bellevue is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bellevue it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your poppies in the event of a surprise late frost.

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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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.