One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when to plant zinnia in Independence by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Since zinnia do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Independence is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Independence the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Independence and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Independence last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your zinnia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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