Zinnia · Lanzhou, Gansu, China

When to sow zinnias in Lanzhou

Main outdoor window

7-21 May

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

30 April

In Lanzhou, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

6-26 Jul

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Cautious Balanced Bold

Step by step in Lanzhou

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Start indoors

2-16 Apr

Four weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow direct

7-21 May

One week after your last frost.

Plant out

7-21 May

One week after your last frost.

In flower

6-26 Jul

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 21 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.

Frost tolerance

Tender

Damaged below

0°C (32°F)

Days to flowering

60–80

Min soil temp

21°C (69.8°F)

Spacing

25 cm

Sowing depth

6 mm (0.2 in)

Sun

Full

Zinnias through the year

Against the frost risk in Lanzhou

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Zinnias

Frost risk Start indoors Sow direct Plant out Harvest Today

Why these dates

Direct sowing after last frost usually beats transplanting - zinnias dislike root disturbance and catch up quickly.

Killed by the first frost at either end of the season. Strictly a warm-season flower.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Zinnias are timed from 4 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 1 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Lanzhou.

The median frost-free season here is 168 days, against 60 to 80 days to first flower for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Lanzhou →

Nearby

Zinnias in places close by

Baiyin 62 km Linxia Chengguanzhen 76 km Dingxi 89 km Nianbo 136 km Xining 197 km Zhongwei 202 km

Also in Lanzhou

Other flowers to time

Tulips very hardy Daffodils very hardy Dahlias tender Sunflowers tender Crocuses very hardy Peonies very hardy Calendulas hardy Hyacinths very hardy Sweet peas hardy Pansies very hardy Snowdrops very hardy

Growing zinnias in Lanzhou

When should I plant zinnias in Lanzhou?

Aim for 7-21 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 19 May - 2 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When will zinnias be ready to harvest in Lanzhou?

Expect to start picking around 6-26 Jul, based on 60 to 80 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.

How much frost will zinnias tolerate?

Killed by the first frost at either end of the season. Strictly a warm-season flower.