One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant zinnia is to examine the USDA zone info for Bowling Green.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

You can not plant zinnia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Bowling Green 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bowling Green. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bowling Green and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bowling Green there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your zinnia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bowling Green

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 Bowling Green

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bowling Green.