One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Chittenango should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's possible 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.

Since penstemon are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Chittenango 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 really do well. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chittenango. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chittenango may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chittenango last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your penstemon in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chittenango

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 Chittenango

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