When to Plant Pampas Grass in Los Angeles, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when to plant pampas grass is to refer to the USDA zone info for Los Angeles.


Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Since pampas grass are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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 Los Angeles 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Los Angeles. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Los Angeles is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Los Angeles you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your pampas grass in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Angeles

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 Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°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 Los Angeles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Angeles.