One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Richland Center you can determine when it's a good idea to plant california poppy by using the USDA zone info.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy in Richland Center is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. If you are starting your california poppy indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Richland Center the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richland Center and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Richland Center last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your california poppy in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richland Center

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 Richland Center

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Richland Center.