One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant festuca is to consult the USDA zone info for Monticello.

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 do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant festuca in Monticello 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your festuca may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 Monticello. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Monticello may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Monticello you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your festuca in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monticello

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 Monticello

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