Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for La Crosse can be read to figure out when it's possible to plant carnation.

Planting Calendar for Carnation

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

Carnation do well in cold which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in La Crosse 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 carnation and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your carnation may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in La Crosse. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for La Crosse is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in La Crosse it frosts late in the year after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your carnation in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for La Crosse

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 La Crosse

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crosse.