Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant zinnia in Sunnyvale can be figured out by using 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 do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Sunnyvale 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. Any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your zinnia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Sunnyvale. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sunnyvale is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Sunnyvale you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sunnyvale

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 Sunnyvale

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