When to Plant Zinnia in Hillside, IL

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 checking out the USDA zone info for Hillside it's possible 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 it's necessary to wait until after the last 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 Hillside 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. If you wait any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hillside. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Hillside may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hillside you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillside

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 Hillside

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