One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for Highwood should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant carnation.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Carnation do well in cold which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Highwood 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Highwood. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Highwood is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Highwood you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Highwood

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 Highwood

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