Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when to plant zinnia is to refer to the USDA zone info for Alamogordo.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

You should not plant zinnia until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Alamogordo 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your zinnia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Alamogordo. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alamogordo and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Alamogordo it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your zinnia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alamogordo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Alamogordo

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