One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Lakeland you can determine when it's a good idea to plant dianthus by looking at 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.

Since dianthus are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Lakeland 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. Any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lakeland the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lakeland is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lakeland there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your dianthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lakeland

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 Lakeland

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