One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant penstemon is to consult the USDA zone info for Solana Beach.

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 moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Solana Beach 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your penstemon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Solana Beach the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Solana Beach is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Solana Beach last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your penstemon in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Solana Beach

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 Solana Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Solana Beach.