When to Plant Pennisetum in Buffalo Grove, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant pennisetum is to use the USDA zone info for Buffalo Grove.


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 barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pennisetum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pennisetum
Probably not a good time to plant pennisetum

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Buffalo Grove 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Buffalo Grove the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Buffalo Grove may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Buffalo Grove there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pennisetum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo Grove

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 Buffalo Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Buffalo Grove.