One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Arcata it's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant ruby grass.

Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

Ruby Grass are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Arcata is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your ruby grass indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Arcata. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Arcata is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Arcata it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Arcata

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