When to Plant Pampas Grass in Berkeley, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant pampas grass by checking out the USDA zone info for Berkeley.


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.

You really shouldn't plant pampas grass until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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 Berkeley 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 pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pampas grass indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Berkeley. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Berkeley and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Berkeley it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to protect your pampas grass in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Berkeley

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