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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant penstemon is to check out the USDA zone info for Richmond.

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 get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Richmond 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 fully mature. If you are starting your penstemon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Richmond. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Richmond and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your penstemon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Richmond

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