When to Plant Zinnia in Waverly, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Waverly you will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant zinnia.


Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Since zinnia are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Waverly 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 really do well. If you are starting your zinnia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Waverly 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Waverly is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Waverly it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your zinnia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waverly

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 Waverly

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