Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Smithfield it's a good idea to figure out when you can 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.

Ornamental Grasses are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Smithfield 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 ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Smithfield and it is different every year. Half of the time in Smithfield last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your ornamental grasses in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

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 Smithfield

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