One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 Elizabeth City should be reviewed to figure out when it's possible 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.

Since ruby grass are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Elizabeth City 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. If you wait any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your ruby grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Elizabeth City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elizabeth City and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Elizabeth City last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your ruby grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elizabeth City

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 Elizabeth City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elizabeth City.