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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Ashland you will be able to figure out when you can plant dianthus.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Ashland is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant dianthus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your dianthus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Ashland. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ashland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ashland there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your dianthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ashland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Ashland

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