One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Herkimer can be reviewed to figure out when it's possible 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.

Carnation are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Herkimer 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Herkimer the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Herkimer may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Herkimer there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Herkimer

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 Herkimer

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