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 first opportunity to plant penstemon in Holdrege can be determined by using 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 can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Holdrege 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your penstemon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Holdrege is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Holdrege there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your penstemon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Holdrege

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Holdrege

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