Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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 making a decision about when you can plant dianthus is to look at the USDA zone info for Mission Viejo.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

You can plant dianthus a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Mission Viejo 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Mission Viejo the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mission Viejo is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mission Viejo last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission Viejo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Mission Viejo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mission Viejo.