One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of figuring out when you can plant fountain grass is to refer to the USDA zone info for Rifle.

Planting Calendar for Fountain Grass

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

Fountain Grass do ok in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Rifle 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 fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your fountain grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your fountain grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rifle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rifle may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rifle it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your fountain grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rifle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Rifle

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