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.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant dianthus is to check out the USDA zone info for Saratoga.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus tend to make it in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Saratoga 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Saratoga is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Saratoga you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Saratoga

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 Saratoga

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