One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The USDA zone info for Hackensack should be looked at to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

Pennisetum do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Hackensack 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pennisetum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Hackensack. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hackensack is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Hackensack it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your pennisetum if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hackensack

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Hackensack

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