The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant carnation is to refer to the USDA zone info for Erie.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

Frost tolerance for carnation:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since carnation do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Erie 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. Any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your carnation indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Erie. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Erie is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Erie it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your carnation in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Erie

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 Erie

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