When to Plant Ornamental Grasses in Barrington, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Barrington can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

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Planting Calendar for Ornamental Grasses

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

You can plant ornamental grasses slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant ornamental grasses
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant ornamental grasses
Probably not a good time to plant ornamental grasses

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Barrington is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your ornamental grasses indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Barrington may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Barrington it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your ornamental grasses if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Barrington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Barrington

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