Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 Rapid City it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant ruby grass.

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.

Ruby Grass are barely cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Rapid City 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ruby grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Rapid City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Rapid City may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rapid City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your ruby grass if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rapid City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Rapid City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rapid City.