When to Plant Fountain Grass in Orlando, FL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Orlando you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant fountain grass.


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 a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant fountain grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant fountain grass
Probably not a good time to plant fountain grass

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Orlando 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 fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your fountain grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your fountain grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Orlando is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Orlando last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your fountain grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Orlando

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Orlando

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