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.

The USDA zone info for Zone 13a should be reviewed to figure out when you can plant oriental poppies.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

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

Oriental poppies do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Zone 13a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your oriental poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your oriental poppies indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 13a it never frosts. It might get as low as 60°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 13a is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 13a you do not have to be ready to cover your oriental poppies if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 13a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 13a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	60°F
Highest Expected Low	65°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 65°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 13a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 13a.