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.

The USDA zone info for Elk River can be used to estimate when you can 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 do well in cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Elk River 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Elk River. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elk River and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Elk River you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your carnation if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elk River

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 Elk River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elk River.