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.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant carnation is to consult the USDA zone info for Natchitoches.

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 plant them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Natchitoches 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. If you wait any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Natchitoches. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Natchitoches is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Natchitoches you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your carnation in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Natchitoches

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Natchitoches

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