One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 Marlborough can be used to estimate when you can 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 do ok in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Marlborough 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 really do well. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Marlborough. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marlborough is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Marlborough you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marlborough

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 Marlborough

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