Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant dianthus is to check out the USDA zone info for Elon.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

Frost tolerance for dianthus:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Dianthus do well in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Elon 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 dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Elon. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elon and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elon

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 Elon

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