One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Rock Island should be reffered to in order to determine when you can plant ruby grass.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Rock Island 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. Starting your ruby grass indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Rock Island. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to 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 Rock Island and it is different every year. Half of the time in Rock Island it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rock Island

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 Rock Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rock Island.