One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 common way of determining when it's possible to plant carnation is to consult the USDA zone info for Carol Stream.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Since carnation are very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Carol Stream 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 fully mature. 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Carol Stream. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Carol Stream is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Carol Stream you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your carnation if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carol Stream

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 Carol Stream

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Carol Stream.