One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Fontana you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant carnation.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Since carnation are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Fontana 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your carnation indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Fontana. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fontana may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fontana you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your carnation if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fontana

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 Fontana

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