One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant dianthus is to use the USDA zone info for Clinton.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Clinton 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 really do well. If you are starting your dianthus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clinton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Clinton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Clinton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Clinton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Clinton

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