One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant pampas grass is to refer to the USDA zone info for Novato.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

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

You really shouldn't plant pampas grass until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Novato is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In Novato the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Novato is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Novato it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Novato

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Novato

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