One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Belvidere you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant pampas grass by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since pampas grass do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Belvidere is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pampas grass indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Belvidere may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Belvidere it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Belvidere

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 Belvidere

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