When to Plant Dianthus in Creston, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 Creston should be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant dianthus.


Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Since dianthus do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant dianthus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant dianthus
Probably not a good time to plant dianthus

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Creston 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. Starting your dianthus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Creston. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Creston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Creston last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your dianthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Creston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Creston

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