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

The first chance to plant pennisetum in Onalaska should be estimated by using 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.

Since pennisetum are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Onalaska 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 pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pennisetum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your pennisetum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Onalaska. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Onalaska is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Onalaska you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your pennisetum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Onalaska

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Onalaska

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