Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant carnation in Cambridge should be estimated 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 do well in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Cambridge 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 grow to maturity. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cambridge. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cambridge is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Cambridge there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your carnation if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cambridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Cambridge

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