One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in East Lansing can be figured out by looking at 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.

Since zinnia do not do well in cold 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 East Lansing 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. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In East Lansing the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for East Lansing may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in East Lansing you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Lansing

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 East Lansing

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Lansing.