The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when to plant pennisetum is to use the USDA zone info for Zone 1b.

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.

You can plant pennisetum a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant pennisetum in Zone 1b is June. However, you really should wait until July if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant pennisetum and expect a good harvest is probably July. Any later than that and your pennisetum may not have a chance to really do well. 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 June 15 in Zone 1b. It might get as low as -55°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 1b is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 1b you get surprised by a frost after June 15 so always be ready to protect your pennisetum if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	July 15
Lowest Expected Low	-55°F
Highest Expected Low	-50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -50°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1b.