One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Muscatine you should be able to determine when you can plant ruby grass.

Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

Ruby Grass do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Muscatine 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Muscatine. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Muscatine may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Muscatine last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your ruby grass in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muscatine

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 Muscatine

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