One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 best time to plant zinnia in Hillsdale 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 the last frost.

You can not plant zinnia until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Hillsdale 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. 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

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Hillsdale may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hillsdale last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your zinnia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsdale

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 Hillsdale

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