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.

The first chance to plant carnation in Valparaiso can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

You can plant carnation quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Valparaiso 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 carnation and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your carnation may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your carnation indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Valparaiso and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Valparaiso it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your carnation if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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