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.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant ornamental grasses is to consult the USDA zone info for North Charleston.

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.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in North Charleston 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in North Charleston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for North Charleston may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in North Charleston you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your ornamental grasses if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for North Charleston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in North Charleston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Charleston.