The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant pampas grass is to examine the USDA zone info for Chicago.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

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

Since pampas grass do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Chicago 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. Any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pampas grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Chicago. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chicago you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your pampas grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago

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

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