When to Plant Ruby Grass in Madison, SD

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Madison you can determine when it's a good idea to plant ruby grass by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

You can plant ruby grass slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant ruby grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant ruby grass
Probably not a good time to plant ruby grass

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Madison 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ruby grass may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Madison the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your ruby grass in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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