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.

A way of estimating when to plant dianthus is to use the USDA zone info for Hudson.

Planting Calendar for Dianthus

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

Dianthus do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Hudson 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 really do well. Starting your dianthus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Hudson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hudson is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Hudson you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your dianthus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hudson

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 Hudson

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