When to Plant Ornamental Grasses in Clemson, SC

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Clemson it's possible to figure out when to 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.

Since ornamental grasses do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 Clemson 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. If you wait any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Clemson is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Clemson there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your ornamental grasses in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clemson

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 Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 Clemson

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