When to Plant Iceland Poppy in Zone 5a

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Zone 5a should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Iceland Poppy

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

Since iceland poppy do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant iceland poppy in Zone 5a 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 iceland poppy and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iceland poppy may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your iceland poppy indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5a 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.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 5a is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5a it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your iceland poppy if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

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 Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.