One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant pampas grass is to look at the USDA zone info for Newport.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

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

You can not plant pampas grass until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Newport 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Newport. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Newport may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Newport last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your pampas grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newport

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 Newport

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