When to Plant Pennisetum in Fairmont, MN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Fairmont should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pennisetum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pennisetum
Probably not a good time to plant pennisetum

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Fairmont 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. Any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pennisetum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Fairmont. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Fairmont and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fairmont last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your pennisetum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairmont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairmont

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