The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant penstemon is to use the USDA zone info for Monroe.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Monroe 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your penstemon may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Monroe. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Monroe is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Monroe you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Monroe

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 Monroe

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