One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 determine when it's possible to plant carnation by using the USDA zone info for Lake Mills.

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 tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant carnation in Lake Mills 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 grow to maturity. Starting your carnation indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lake Mills. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lake Mills is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Mills it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your carnation if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Mills

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Mills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Mills.