The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 figuring out when it's the best time to plant penstemon is to check out the USDA zone info for Fairmont.

Planting Calendar for Penstemon

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

Since penstemon do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant penstemon in Fairmont 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Fairmont the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairmont may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fairmont you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your penstemon in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fairmont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

Plants to Grow in Fairmont

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