One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Cleveland should be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant zinnia.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant zinnia until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Cleveland 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your zinnia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Cleveland. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cleveland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cleveland you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your zinnia in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cleveland

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 Cleveland

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