One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Orlando can be looked at to determine when it's a good idea to plant carnation.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

Frost tolerance for carnation:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Carnation do well in cold which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Orlando 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 carnation and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Orlando is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Orlando it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your carnation in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orlando

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 Orlando

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