When to Plant Carnation in Watertown, NY

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 Watertown should be reffered to in order to figure out 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.

Carnation do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant carnation
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant carnation
Probably not a good time to plant carnation

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Watertown 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. Any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your carnation indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Watertown. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Watertown and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Watertown there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your carnation in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

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 Watertown

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