The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. 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 Sparta it's a good idea to determine 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 do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant dianthus in Sparta 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 little bit earlier by starting your dianthus indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Sparta. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sparta is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sparta there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your dianthus if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

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 Sparta

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