One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 determining when it's possible to plant dianthus is to examine the USDA zone info for Bastrop.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Since dianthus do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Bastrop 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. 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bastrop and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bastrop there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bastrop

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 Bastrop

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