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

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in College Park should be estimated by using 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 do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in College Park 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 fully mature. If you are starting your dianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in College Park. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for College Park is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in College Park there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your dianthus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for College Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in College Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for College Park.