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

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant penstemon is to check out the USDA zone info for Chester.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Penstemon tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Chester 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. Any later than that and your penstemon may not have a chance to really do well. 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 Chester. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

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 Chester and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chester you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Chester

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