- When to plant cool-season grass<\/a><\/li>
- When to plant warm-season grass<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>
When to plant cool-season grass<\/span><\/h2>
![\"USDA](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/MT150_HS-1-1.jpg\")
USDA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure> In general, the best time to plant cool-season grass in Montana is between the last week of July and mid-September<\/strong>. Planting during this time allows the grass to take root before winter and then become an established lawn during spring, before the summer heat strikes.<\/p>
However, you can narrow the time frame even further if you know what USDA Growing Zone you live in. <\/p>
Growing<\/strong> Zone 3<\/strong><\/p>
- Location<\/strong>: Along the north-central and northeastern Canadian border and in small pockets in the southwest near the southern Idaho border.<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: September 8 to 15<\/li>
- Best time to plant<\/strong>: July 25 to August 1<\/li> <\/ul>
Zone 4<\/strong><\/p>
- Location<\/strong>: Covers much of the state. Zone 4a borders northern zone 3 and goes as far west as Glacier County. It covers much of the northeastern part of the state, too. Zone 4b includes southeast and central Montana and goes as far west as Pondera and Tetor counties. It also includes pockets in southwestern Montana.<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: September 21 to October 7<\/li>
- Best time to plant<\/strong>: August 7 to August 23<\/li> <\/ul>
Zone 5<\/strong><\/p>
- Location<\/strong>: Covers the central border and most of the southwest. Zone 5 also includes a strip in the northwest between Zone 4 and Zone 6 as well as a few pockets in central and southeastern parts of the state. Zone 5a is primarily in the southern and southwestern area and zone 5b is mostly in the northwest<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: October 13 to 21<\/li>
- Best time to plant<\/strong>: August 29 to September 6<\/li> <\/ul>
Zone 6<\/strong><\/p>
- Location<\/strong>: In the northwest, on the western side of the continental divide. It includes most of Sanders and Mineral counties, parts of Lake, Flathead, and Lincoln counties, and small sections of Missoula, Ravalli, and Granite counties.<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: October 17 to 31<\/li>
- Best time to plant<\/strong>: September 2 to 16<\/li> <\/ul>
Check out The Best Grass Seed for Montana Lawns to foster a gorgeous green lawn.<\/p>
When to plant warm-season grass<\/span><\/h2>
For both new and established lawns, plant warm-season grass in May or June<\/strong>. Wait until the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees (air temperature 65 degrees) which varies by year and location. <\/p>
Note:<\/strong> Warm-season grasses are best suited for the warmer northwest corner of Montana, known as USDA Growing Zone 6. This includes most of Sanders and Mineral counties, parts of Lake, Flathead, and Lincoln counties, and small sections of Missoula, Ravalli, and Granite counties.<\/p>
The only suitable warm-season grasses are the native buffalograss and blue grama grass.<\/p>
Once you\u2019ve established your lawn, start thinking about your landscaping. Here\u2019s Montana Native Plants for Your Landscape for more information.<\/p>
Related links<\/strong>:<\/p>
- How to Grow Grass<\/a><\/li>
- How to Plant Grass Seed<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
Should I hire a professional?<\/span><\/h2>
Establishing a lawn and then maintaining it is relatively easy, but it\u2019s also time-consuming and laborious. If you\u2019re like many in Big Sky Country, you\u2019d rather enjoy the outdoors, not maintain your lawn. Lawn Love can help. We\u2019ll connect you with a vetted, experienced, affordable local lawn care pro<\/a>. Enjoy your lawn and your weekend without breaking a sweat.<\/p>
\t\t\t\t\t\tSources<\/strong><\/p> \t\t\t
<\/span><\/div> \t\t<\/div> \t\t\t- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map<\/a><\/li>
- 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: Montana<\/a><\/li>
- Montana State University Extension: Planning and Planting Successful Lawns in Montana<\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> \t\t<\/div> <\/div>
Main Image Credit: Darko<\/a> | Adobe Stock | License<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For Montana lawns, plant cool-season grasses from early August to mid-September, 45 days before the first frost. Plant warm-season grass in May or June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":28364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[584],"class_list":["post-28363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montana","tag-lawn-care-mt"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AdobeStock_175954500-1.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Nicki DeStasi","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/nicki-destasi\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: Montana<\/a><\/li>
- How to Plant Grass Seed<\/a><\/li> <\/ul>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: October 17 to 31<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: October 13 to 21<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: September 21 to October 7<\/li>
- Average first frost<\/strong>: September 8 to 15<\/li>
- When to plant warm-season grass<\/a><\/li><\/ul> \t\t\t<\/div> \t\t<\/div><\/div>