One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Plymouth you will be able to figure out when it's the best time to 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 tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Plymouth 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your carnation indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Plymouth. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Plymouth and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Plymouth you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Plymouth

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 Plymouth

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