Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant penstemon by using the USDA zone info for East Orange.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in East Orange 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 East Orange. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for East Orange and it is different every year. Half of the time in East Orange there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your penstemon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Orange

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in East Orange

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Orange.