One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 Anacortes you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant pennisetum by checking out 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 plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Anacortes 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. If you wait any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your pennisetum indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Anacortes the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Anacortes and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Anacortes there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pennisetum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Anacortes

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 Anacortes

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