When to Plant Zinnia in Lakeland, FL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Lakeland it's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant zinnia.


Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Zinnia are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant zinnia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant zinnia
Probably not a good time to plant zinnia

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Lakeland 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. If you wait any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lakeland. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lakeland is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lakeland you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lakeland

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Lakeland

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