One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant dianthus is to examine the USDA zone info for Mandan.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Mandan 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Mandan. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mandan is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mandan last frost occurs after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mandan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Mandan

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