One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The first chance to plant fountain grass in Roanoke can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fountain Grass

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

Fountain Grass are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Roanoke 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 fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fountain grass may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your fountain grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Roanoke the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Roanoke is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Roanoke last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your fountain grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Roanoke

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