The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening 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 Laurel should be read to estimate when 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.

You can plant carnation a lot earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Laurel 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Laurel. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Laurel and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Laurel you get a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your carnation in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Laurel

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 Laurel

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