When to Plant Ornamental Grasses in Sierra Madre, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 making a decision about when you can plant ornamental grasses is to use the USDA zone info for Sierra Madre.


Planting Calendar for Ornamental Grasses

Frost tolerance for ornamental grasses: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Ornamental Grasses can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant ornamental grasses
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant ornamental grasses
Probably not a good time to plant ornamental grasses

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Sierra Madre 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 ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your ornamental grasses indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Sierra Madre may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Sierra Madre last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your ornamental grasses in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sierra Madre

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 Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°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 Sierra Madre

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sierra Madre.