The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Mattoon can be reffered to in order 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.

It's not a good idea to plant zinnia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Mattoon 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 really do well. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mattoon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mattoon is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mattoon 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 Mattoon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mattoon

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