One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant penstemon by referring to the USDA zone info for Waite Park.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Waite Park 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Waite Park the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Waite Park and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Waite Park last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your penstemon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waite Park

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 Waite Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Waite Park.