One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Winston you should be able to determine when it's a good idea 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.

You can plant carnation quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Winston 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. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Winston. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Winston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Winston you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Winston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Winston

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