One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Mendota you should be able to figure out when you can plant dianthus.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Since dianthus are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Mendota 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. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Mendota. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Mendota is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mendota you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mendota

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 Mendota

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