Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant pennisetum by looking at the USDA zone info for Fort Oglethorpe.

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 do ok in some cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Fort Oglethorpe 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Fort Oglethorpe. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Oglethorpe is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Oglethorpe last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your pennisetum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Oglethorpe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Oglethorpe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Oglethorpe.