Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when to plant penstemon is to examine the USDA zone info for Kinston.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Since penstemon do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Kinston 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Kinston the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Kinston is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Kinston it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to protect your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Kinston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Kinston

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