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.

The USDA zone info for Brookfield can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's the best time to plant pennisetum.

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 tend to make it in a tiny bit of 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 Brookfield 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. If you wait any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

In Brookfield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Brookfield 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 Brookfield it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pennisetum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Brookfield

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 Brookfield

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