One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant creeping zinnia is to look at the USDA zone info for Champaign.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Zinnia

Frost tolerance for creeping zinnia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant creeping zinnia a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant creeping zinnia in Champaign 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 creeping zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your creeping zinnia may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your creeping zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Champaign. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Champaign is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Champaign it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your creeping zinnia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

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 Champaign

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