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When to Plant Pennisetum in Grand Forks, ND

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.

The USDA zone info for Grand Forks should be read to determine when it's possible to plant pennisetum.


Planting Calendar for Pennisetum

Frost tolerance for pennisetum: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since pennisetum are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pennisetum
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pennisetum
Probably not a good time to plant pennisetum

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Grand Forks 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pennisetum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Grand Forks. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Grand Forks and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Grand Forks you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pennisetum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Forks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Grand Forks

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Forks.