The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant dianthus is to check out the USDA zone info for Dover.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Dover 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. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Dover the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dover and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Dover you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dover

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Dover

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