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

In Mission you can determine when to plant penstemon by reviewing 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 ok in a little bit of 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 Mission 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Mission the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mission is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mission it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your penstemon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mission

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