One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Austin you can figure out when to plant carnation by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

Frost tolerance for carnation:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Carnation can survive in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Austin is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant carnation and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Austin. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Austin is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Austin it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your carnation if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Austin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Austin

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