Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Zone 8a can be determined by looking at 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 are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant ruby grass in Zone 8a 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ruby grass may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your ruby grass indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Zone 8a. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8a is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 8a it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your ruby grass if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8a.