One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By using the USDA zone info for California you will be able to figure out when you can plant ornamental grasses.

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 a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in California 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. Any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your ornamental grasses indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in California. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for California 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 California last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your ornamental grasses if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for California

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in California

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