One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Phoenix you will be able to estimate when it's the best time 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 well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Phoenix 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Phoenix. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Phoenix may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Phoenix you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Phoenix

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 Phoenix

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