One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant penstemon is to examine the USDA zone info for North Tonawanda.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

You can plant penstemon just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in North Tonawanda 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. If you are starting your penstemon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in North Tonawanda. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for North Tonawanda is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in North Tonawanda you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your penstemon if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for North Tonawanda

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in North Tonawanda

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Tonawanda.