The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's possible to plant zinnia is to consult the USDA zone info for Elmira.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Since zinnia are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Elmira 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 Elmira. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elmira is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elmira you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elmira

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Elmira

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