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

The USDA zone info for Charleston should be used to determine when to plant ruby grass.

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.

Ruby Grass can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Charleston 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. Any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your ruby grass 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 Charleston. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Charleston is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Charleston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your ruby grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Charleston

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