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 Decatur you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant zinnia by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

Frost tolerance for zinnia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since zinnia require warm weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Decatur 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 zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Decatur. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Decatur is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Decatur you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Decatur

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Decatur

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