When to Plant Ornamental Grasses in Columbus, OH

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Columbus you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant ornamental grasses by referring to the USDA zone info.


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.

You can plant ornamental grasses just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Columbus 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Columbus. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Columbus is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your ornamental grasses in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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