Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant penstemon by checking out the USDA zone info for North Adams.

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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in North Adams 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in North Adams. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for North Adams is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in North Adams you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your penstemon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Adams

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 North Adams

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Adams.