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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Carpentersville it's possible to determine when you can plant zinnia.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Since zinnia require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Carpentersville 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Carpentersville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Carpentersville last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carpentersville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Carpentersville

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