One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Worcester should be figured out by using 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.

Zinnia require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Worcester 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. Any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Worcester. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Worcester is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Worcester you get surprised by 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 Worcester

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 Worcester

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