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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant pennisetum is to consult the USDA zone info for Holdrege.

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.

Pennisetum do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Holdrege 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Holdrege. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Holdrege is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Holdrege it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Holdrege

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Holdrege

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