Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant penstemon is to use the USDA zone info for South Pasadena.

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 South Pasadena 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Pasadena the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for South Pasadena is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in South Pasadena it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Pasadena

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 South Pasadena

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Pasadena.