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

You should be able to estimate when you can plant ruby grass by referring to the USDA zone info for Alpena.

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.

Since ruby grass are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Alpena 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. If you wait any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your ruby grass 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 Alpena. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Alpena may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Alpena it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your ruby grass in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alpena

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 Alpena

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