The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant zinnia is to examine the USDA zone info for Poughkeepsie.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Zinnia are not cold tolerant which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Poughkeepsie 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. Starting your zinnia indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Poughkeepsie the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Poughkeepsie is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Poughkeepsie it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Poughkeepsie

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 Poughkeepsie

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