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

In Los Lunas you can figure out when it's the best time to plant carnation by reviewing 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 are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Los Lunas 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your carnation may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Los Lunas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°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 Los Lunas and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Los Lunas last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your carnation in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Lunas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Los Lunas

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Lunas.