When to Plant Penstemon in Quincy, MA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Quincy it's possible to estimate when you can plant penstemon.


Planting Calendar for Penstemon

Frost tolerance for penstemon: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant penstemon a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant penstemon
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant penstemon
Probably not a good time to plant penstemon

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Quincy 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Quincy. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Quincy may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Quincy you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your penstemon in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Quincy

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 Low0°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 Quincy

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