Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Menlo Park you can determine when it's possible to plant penstemon by referring to 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 little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Menlo Park 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Menlo Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Menlo Park is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Menlo Park last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Menlo Park

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 Menlo Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Menlo Park.