frostdate name logo in white
frostdate name logo in white

When to Plant Ornamental Grasses in Zone 9b

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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant ornamental grasses by reviewing the USDA zone info for Zone 9b.


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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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 Zone 9b is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your ornamental grasses indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Zone 9b. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 9b and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 9b there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your ornamental grasses if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9b.