Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Smithfield it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant fountain grass.

Planting Calendar for Fountain Grass

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

Fountain Grass are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Smithfield 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 fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your fountain grass may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your fountain grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Smithfield the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Smithfield is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Smithfield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your fountain grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithfield

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