When to Plant Ornamental Grasses in Whitewater, WI

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 best time to plant ornamental grasses in Whitewater can be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Ornamental Grasses

Frost tolerance for ornamental grasses: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant ornamental grasses
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant ornamental grasses
Probably not a good time to plant ornamental grasses

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses in Whitewater 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 ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Whitewater. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Whitewater is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Whitewater you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your ornamental grasses if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Whitewater

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Whitewater

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