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

In Melvindale you can figure out when it's possible 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 ok in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Melvindale 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your penstemon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Melvindale the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Melvindale is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Melvindale you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your penstemon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melvindale

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 Low	0°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 Melvindale

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