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 first opportunity to plant penstemon in Indio can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

You can plant penstemon a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Indio 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Indio. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

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 Indio and it is different every year. Half of the time in Indio it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Indio

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Indio

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