Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant pampas grass in California by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant pampas grass until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in California is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pampas grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in California. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for California and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in California you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your pampas grass if you have a 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.