Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Marion you can figure out when it's the best time to plant dianthus by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

Frost tolerance for dianthus:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Dianthus tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Marion 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 dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your dianthus 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 Marion. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Marion is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Marion you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dianthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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