One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when it's a good idea to plant pennisetum in La Mesa by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in La Mesa 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. Any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In La Mesa the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for La Mesa is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in La Mesa you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Mesa

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 La Mesa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Mesa.