Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant carnation is to examine the USDA zone info for Dolton.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

Frost tolerance for carnation:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Carnation tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Dolton is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant carnation and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Dolton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Dolton may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dolton last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your carnation if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dolton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Dolton

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