One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant zinnia is to consult the USDA zone info for Willoughby.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Since zinnia do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Willoughby 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. Any later than that and your zinnia may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Willoughby. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Willoughby 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 Willoughby there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Willoughby

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

Plants to Grow in Willoughby

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