One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant zinnia is to check out the USDA zone info for Alhambra.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

You should not plant zinnia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Alhambra 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 zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your zinnia may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your zinnia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Alhambra the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alhambra and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Alhambra you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your zinnia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alhambra

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Alhambra

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