Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Portales should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

Frost tolerance for zinnia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant zinnia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Portales 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Portales the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portales and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Portales you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your zinnia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portales

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portales

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