When to Plant Penstemon in New Paltz, NY

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when you can plant penstemon in New Paltz 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant penstemon
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant penstemon
Probably not a good time to plant penstemon

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in New Paltz 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 really do well. Starting your penstemon indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in New Paltz. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for New Paltz may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in New Paltz there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your penstemon if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Paltz

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 New Paltz

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Paltz.