One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 New Lenox you can determine when to plant penstemon by using 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 a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in New Lenox 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. If you wait 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for New Lenox is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Lenox you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your penstemon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Lenox

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 New Lenox

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Lenox.