One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant pennisetum by reviewing the USDA zone info for Marshall.

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 Marshall is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. If you wait 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Marshall. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marshall is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Marshall you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your pennisetum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marshall

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Marshall

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