When to Plant Pampas Grass in Anchorage, AK

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

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant pampas grass is to examine the USDA zone info for Anchorage.


Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Pampas Grass are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pampas grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pampas grass
Probably not a good time to plant pampas grass

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Anchorage is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Anchorage. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Anchorage may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Anchorage last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Anchorage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Anchorage

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