Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when to plant dianthus by reviewing the USDA zone info for Avenal.

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 moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Avenal 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 dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Avenal. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Avenal is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Avenal there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Avenal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Avenal

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