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.

The USDA zone info for Ocean Springs can be reffered to in order to estimate when to plant zinnia.

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 before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Ocean Springs is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ocean Springs. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocean Springs is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ocean Springs you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your zinnia if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ocean Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ocean Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ocean Springs.