One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Central City should be looked at to estimate 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 can survive in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Central City 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Central City. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Central City may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Central City last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Central City

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 Central City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Central City.