One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Virginia you should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant ornamental grasses.

Planting Calendar for Ornamental Grasses

Frost tolerance for ornamental grasses:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant ornamental grasses just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Virginia 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 ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your ornamental grasses indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Virginia. You can expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Virginia it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your ornamental grasses in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Virginia

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