One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant pennisetum in Stone Mountain can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Stone Mountain 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 really do well. If you are starting your pennisetum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Stone Mountain. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Stone Mountain is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Stone Mountain there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stone Mountain

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 Stone Mountain

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Stone Mountain.