One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Bessemer can be reviewed to determine when you can plant pentas.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's not a good idea to plant pentas until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

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

The last month that you can plant pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pentas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pentas indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bessemer the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Bessemer is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bessemer last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pentas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bessemer

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bessemer

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