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

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant dianthus is to examine the USDA zone info for Ashtabula.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Ashtabula 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 dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your dianthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ashtabula. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ashtabula and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ashtabula last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ashtabula

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Ashtabula

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