One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 figuring out when it's possible to plant carnation is to check out the USDA zone info for Dubuque.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Carnation are very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Dubuque 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. Any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dubuque. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dubuque may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dubuque it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your carnation if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dubuque

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 Dubuque

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