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

In Madison you can determine when it's the best time to plant pampas grass by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant pampas grass until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Madison 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 pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pampas grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your pampas grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Madison may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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