When to Plant Ruby Grass in Columbia, IL

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 Columbia you can figure out when it's the best time to plant ruby grass by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

Frost tolerance for ruby grass: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Ruby Grass are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Columbia 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ruby grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Columbia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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