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

The USDA zone info for Reading should be reviewed to estimate when to plant dianthus.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

You can plant dianthus just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Reading 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dianthus may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your dianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Reading. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Reading may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Reading there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Reading

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 Reading

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