One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant carnation in Crete can be determined by referring to 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.

Carnation tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Crete is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant carnation and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your carnation indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Crete the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Crete 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 Crete last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your carnation if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Crete

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