One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant penstemon by reviewing the USDA zone info for Aurora.

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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Aurora is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant penstemon and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Aurora is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Aurora you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Aurora

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Aurora

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