One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant zinnia is to check out the USDA zone info for Hempstead.

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 you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Hempstead 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. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hempstead the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hempstead is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hempstead it frosts late in the year 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 Hempstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hempstead

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