When to Plant Pampas Grass in Seattle, WA

One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Seattle you will be able to determine when it's possible to plant pampas grass.


Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

Frost tolerance for pampas grass: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since pampas grass require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass in Seattle is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pampas grass indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Seattle. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Seattle is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Seattle there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Seattle

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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 Seattle

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