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.

You will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant penstemon by reviewing the USDA zone info for Chowchilla.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Chowchilla is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant penstemon and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your penstemon may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your penstemon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Chowchilla. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Chowchilla may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Chowchilla you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chowchilla

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Chowchilla

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