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.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant penstemon in Mount Carmel by referring to 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 some cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Mount Carmel 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 really do well. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Carmel. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mount Carmel is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Carmel you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your penstemon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Carmel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Mount Carmel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Carmel.