One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant pennisetum in Jacksonville can be determined by using 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Jacksonville 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Jacksonville is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Jacksonville last frost occurs after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your pennisetum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

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 Jacksonville

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