One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Gustine should be reffered to in order to estimate when 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.

Penstemon do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Gustine 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. If you wait any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to really do well. 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

In Gustine the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Gustine is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gustine you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gustine

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 Gustine

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