One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 referring to the USDA zone info for Caruthersville.

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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Caruthersville 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 fully mature. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Caruthersville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Caruthersville and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Caruthersville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Caruthersville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Caruthersville

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