One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant dianthus is to consult the USDA zone info for Bay City.

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 a little 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 Bay City is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your dianthus may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Bay City. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bay City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bay City you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your dianthus in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bay City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Bay City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bay City.