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

In Sumter you can estimate when you can plant fountain grass by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fountain Grass

Frost tolerance for fountain grass:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since fountain grass are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Sumter 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 fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fountain grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your fountain grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sumter the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Sumter is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Sumter last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your fountain grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sumter

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 Sumter

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