When to Plant Creeping Zinnia in Cedar Falls, IA

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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Cedar Falls you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant creeping zinnia.


Planting Calendar for Creeping Zinnia

Frost tolerance for creeping zinnia: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Creeping Zinnia do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant creeping zinnia in Cedar Falls 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 creeping zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your creeping zinnia may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your creeping zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cedar Falls the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cedar Falls and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cedar Falls last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your creeping zinnia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Falls.