One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 Minot should be reffered to in order to estimate 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 can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Minot is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant penstemon and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Minot. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Minot is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Minot it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your penstemon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minot

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Minot

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