When to Plant Ruby Grass in Zone 5a

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

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Zone 5a should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Ruby Grass

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

Ruby Grass can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant ruby grass
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant ruby grass
Probably not a good time to plant ruby grass

The earliest that you can plant ruby 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 ruby grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your ruby grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your ruby grass indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5a the average date of last frost happens on April 15. 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 is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your ruby grass in the event of 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.