One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Milwaukee you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant poppies by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

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

Poppies do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Milwaukee 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. If you wait any later than that and your poppies may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Milwaukee. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Milwaukee is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Milwaukee there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Milwaukee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Milwaukee

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