When to Plant Ruby Grass in Mount Vernon, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

It's possible to figure out when to plant ruby grass by referring to the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon.


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 can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 Mount Vernon 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 grow to maturity. 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 Mount Vernon. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Mount Vernon may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mount Vernon it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your ruby grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

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 Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.