One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant creeping zinnia is to look at the USDA zone info for Carbondale.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Zinnia

Frost tolerance for creeping zinnia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant creeping zinnia a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant creeping zinnia in Carbondale is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant creeping zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your creeping zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your creeping zinnia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Carbondale. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carbondale is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Carbondale there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your creeping zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carbondale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Carbondale

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