The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Benton you can determine when you can 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 can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Benton 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 really do well. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Benton. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benton and it is different every year. Half of the time in Benton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Benton

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