One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant festuca by reviewing the USDA zone info for Hampshire.

Planting Calendar for Festuca

Frost tolerance for festuca:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant festuca just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Hampshire is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant festuca and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your festuca may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your festuca indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hampshire. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hampshire is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hampshire you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your festuca if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hampshire

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 Hampshire

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