One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for North Branch should be looked at to estimate when it's the best time to plant penstemon.

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 moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in North Branch is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant penstemon and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In North Branch the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for North Branch is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in North Branch it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your penstemon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Branch

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in North Branch

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