One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You will be able to figure out when you can plant dianthus by referring to the USDA zone info for Victoria.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Victoria 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Victoria. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Victoria and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Victoria last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your dianthus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Victoria

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 Victoria

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