Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Owatonna it's a good idea to determine when to plant dianthus.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

Frost tolerance for dianthus:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since dianthus do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Owatonna 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 dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dianthus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Owatonna. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Owatonna may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Owatonna last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Owatonna

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 Owatonna

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