When to Plant Zinnia in Detroit, MI

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

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant zinnia is to examine the USDA zone info for Detroit.


Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Since zinnia do not do well in cold weather it is important 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 Detroit 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Detroit. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Detroit may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Detroit you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Detroit

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Detroit

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