One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 first chance to plant zinnia in Gainesville can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Zinnia

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

You can not plant zinnia until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant zinnia in Gainesville 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 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 Gainesville. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gainesville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gainesville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your zinnia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

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