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.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant dianthus is to look at the USDA zone info for Baltimore.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Since dianthus are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Baltimore 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Baltimore. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Baltimore is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Baltimore you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Baltimore

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Baltimore

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