One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant penstemon is to consult the USDA zone info for Coos Bay.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Coos Bay is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant penstemon and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Coos Bay. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Coos Bay and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Coos Bay you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Coos Bay

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Coos Bay

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Coos Bay.