When to Plant Ruby Grass in Harrisburg, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant ruby grass by looking at the USDA zone info for Harrisburg.


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.

Since ruby grass are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to 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 Harrisburg 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. Any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Harrisburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Harrisburg may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Harrisburg you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your ruby grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

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 Harrisburg

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