Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's possible to plant pennisetum by referring to the USDA zone info for Algonquin.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Algonquin 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Algonquin. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Algonquin is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Algonquin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Algonquin

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 Algonquin

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