One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant pennisetum is to check out the USDA zone info for Punta Gorda.

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.

Since pennisetum do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Punta Gorda the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Punta Gorda is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Punta Gorda last frost occurs after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Punta Gorda

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 Punta Gorda

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Punta Gorda.