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.

A way of figuring out when to plant california poppy is to examine the USDA zone info for Germantown.

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.

You can plant california poppy slightly earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

In Germantown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°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 Germantown and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Germantown it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your california poppy if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Germantown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Germantown

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