One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 determining when it's the best time to plant carnation is to refer to the USDA zone info for Columbia.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Since carnation do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Columbia 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 really do well. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbia. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your carnation if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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