When to Plant Fountain Grass in Olympia, WA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when it's the best time to plant fountain grass in Olympia by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 do well in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant fountain grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant fountain grass
Probably not a good time to plant fountain grass

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Olympia 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your fountain grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Olympia the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Olympia and it is different every year. Half of the time in Olympia there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your fountain grass in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Olympia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Olympia

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