When to Plant Pampas Grass in Yakima, 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 Yakima it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea 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 when the weather gets warmer.

It's not a good idea to plant pampas grass until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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 Yakima 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. Any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pampas grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Yakima. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Yakima is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Yakima it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your pampas grass if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Yakima

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Yakima

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