One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Goleta can be read to determine when you can plant zinnia.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

It's not a good idea to plant zinnia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Goleta 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 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 grow to maturity. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Goleta. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Goleta may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Goleta there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your zinnia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Goleta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Goleta

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