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

In Crest Hill you can estimate when to plant penstemon by looking at 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.

Penstemon do well 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 Crest Hill 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Crest Hill is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Crest Hill you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Crest Hill

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 Crest Hill

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crest Hill.