One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The best time to plant penstemon in Roanoke Rapids can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 tells us that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Roanoke Rapids 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 few weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Roanoke Rapids. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Roanoke Rapids and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Roanoke Rapids last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke Rapids

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 Roanoke Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Roanoke Rapids.