One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of determining when it's possible to plant pennisetum is to use the USDA zone info for Pismo Beach.

Planting Calendar for Pennisetum

Frost tolerance for pennisetum:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Pennisetum tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Pismo Beach 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Pismo Beach the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Pismo Beach is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Pismo Beach you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your pennisetum in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pismo Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Pismo Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Pismo Beach.