One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Pella should be estimated 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 earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Pella 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 grow to maturity. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Pella the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Pella may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Pella you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your carnation if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pella

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Pella

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