One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Issaquah you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant carnation by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

Frost tolerance for carnation:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Carnation are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Issaquah 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 carnation and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your carnation indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Issaquah. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Issaquah may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Issaquah last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your carnation in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Issaquah

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 Issaquah

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