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

In Lafayette you can estimate when it's possible to plant dianthus by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Lafayette is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Lafayette. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lafayette is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lafayette there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lafayette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Lafayette

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