The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Sonora should be reviewed to figure out when it's possible to plant pennisetum.

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.

Since pennisetum are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Sonora 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Sonora. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sonora is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Sonora you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your pennisetum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sonora

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Sonora

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