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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant pennisetum is to consult the USDA zone info for Trussville.

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.

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

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Trussville 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Trussville. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Trussville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Trussville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Trussville

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 Trussville

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