One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of estimating when it's the best time to plant zinnia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Seaside.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Zinnia do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Seaside 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. If you wait any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Seaside the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Seaside may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Seaside you get a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Seaside

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 Seaside

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