Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant pennisetum in Rancho Santa Margarita should be estimated by referring to 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.

Pennisetum are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Rancho Santa Margarita 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 fully mature. If you are starting your pennisetum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Rancho Santa Margarita. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Rancho Santa Margarita may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Rancho Santa Margarita it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your pennisetum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Santa Margarita

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 Rancho Santa Margarita

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Santa Margarita.