One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Donna you can determine when you can plant pennisetum by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Pennisetum

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

Pennisetum do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Donna is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Donna. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Donna is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Donna there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your pennisetum if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Donna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Donna

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