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

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant fountain grass by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 5a.

Planting Calendar for Fountain Grass

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

Since fountain grass do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant fountain grass in Zone 5a 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 fountain grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your fountain grass may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your fountain grass indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Zone 5a. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 5a it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your fountain grass if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

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 Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.