The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant carnation is to examine the USDA zone info for Douglas.

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 start planting them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Douglas 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. If you wait any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Douglas. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Douglas may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Douglas there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

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 Douglas

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