One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant zinnia by looking at the USDA zone info for Newcastle.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

Zinnia require warm weather which tells us 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 Newcastle 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 Newcastle. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Newcastle is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Newcastle there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your zinnia in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Newcastle

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 Newcastle

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