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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Hayward it's a good idea to figure out when to plant pennisetum.

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.

Pennisetum can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Hayward 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Hayward. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hayward may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hayward you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pennisetum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hayward

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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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 Hayward

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