One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant dianthus in Slidell by referring to 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Slidell is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Slidell. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Slidell and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Slidell there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your dianthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Slidell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Slidell

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