One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 USDA zone info for Center should be read to estimate when to plant ornamental grasses.

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.

Ornamental Grasses do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Center 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. If you wait any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Center. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Center is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Center you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your ornamental grasses if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Center

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Center

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