When to Plant Dianthus in Mechanicsburg, PA

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.

In Mechanicsburg you can figure out when it's the best time to plant dianthus by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Since dianthus are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Mechanicsburg 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. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your dianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mechanicsburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Mechanicsburg there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mechanicsburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Mechanicsburg

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