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.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant zinnia by using the USDA zone info for Alma.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

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 Alma 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Alma. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alma and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Alma last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alma

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 Alma

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