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.

The USDA zone info for Victoria can be looked at to estimate when it's a good idea to plant pennisetum.

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.

Since pennisetum do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Victoria 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. If you wait any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pennisetum indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Victoria. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Victoria is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Victoria you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your pennisetum in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Victoria

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Victoria

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