Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when to plant penstemon is to look at the USDA zone info for Ojai.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Since penstemon do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Ojai 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. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ojai the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ojai may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ojai you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your penstemon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ojai

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 Ojai

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