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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant carnation is to refer to the USDA zone info for Somerton.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Since carnation do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant carnation and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Somerton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Somerton is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Somerton there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your carnation if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Somerton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Somerton

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