One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Mount Vernon you can estimate when it's possible to plant pentas by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pentas

Frost tolerance for pentas:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You should not plant pentas until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pentas in Mount Vernon is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pentas and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pentas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pentas indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Mount Vernon. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Vernon you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pentas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

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 Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.