One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Marianna can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's a good idea to plant penstemon.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Since penstemon do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Marianna 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 penstemon and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Marianna. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Marianna is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Marianna there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your penstemon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marianna

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 Marianna

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