One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of figuring out when to plant penstemon is to look at the USDA zone info for El Cerrito.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in El Cerrito 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. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In El Cerrito the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for El Cerrito and it is different every year. Since half of the time in El Cerrito you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your penstemon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Cerrito

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in El Cerrito

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Cerrito.