The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant pennisetum is to look at the USDA zone info for Patterson.

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.

You can plant pennisetum just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Patterson 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Patterson the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Patterson is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Patterson there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Patterson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Patterson

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