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.

In Belle Plaine you can estimate when it's the best time 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.

You can plant carnation quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Belle Plaine 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Belle Plaine the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Belle Plaine is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Belle Plaine you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your carnation if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Belle Plaine

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 Belle Plaine

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Belle Plaine.