Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Willard you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant penstemon by reviewing 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 do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Willard 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 Willard. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Willard may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Willard it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Willard

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 Willard

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