One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 Tupelo can be looked at to figure out 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 are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Tupelo 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. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Tupelo is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tupelo you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your penstemon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tupelo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Tupelo

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