The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant ornamental grasses is to use the USDA zone info for Downey.

Planting Calendar for Ornamental Grasses

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

Ornamental Grasses can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Downey 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 ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Downey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Downey is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Downey you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your ornamental grasses in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Downey

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