When to Plant Pampas Grass in Crete, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Crete you can determine when you can plant pampas grass by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

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

You should not plant pampas grass until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Crete 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pampas grass may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pampas grass indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Crete is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Crete it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your pampas grass in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

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 Crete

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