One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Copperas Cove you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant penstemon by referring to 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.

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

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Copperas Cove 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 few weeks earlier by starting your penstemon indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Copperas Cove. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Copperas Cove is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Copperas Cove you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Copperas Cove

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Copperas Cove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Copperas Cove.