Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant pennisetum by reviewing the USDA zone info for Hillview.

Planting Calendar for Pennisetum

Frost tolerance for pennisetum:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Pennisetum do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Hillview 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your pennisetum indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hillview the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hillview is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Hillview last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your pennisetum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillview

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 Low	0°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 Hillview

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