One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant carnation is to refer to the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Carnation are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Mount Carmel 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. 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 Mount Carmel. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Carmel 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 Mount Carmel

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 Mount Carmel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Carmel.