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

In Chicago Ridge you can determine when it's the best time to plant pampas grass by looking at 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.

You really shouldn't plant pampas grass until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Chicago Ridge 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pampas grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago Ridge. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago Ridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your pampas grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.