One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when you can plant salsify by reviewing the USDA zone info for Ottawa.

Planting Calendar for Salsify

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

Salsify tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Ottawa 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 salsify and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your salsify indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ottawa. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ottawa is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ottawa you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your salsify if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ottawa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

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

Plants to Grow in Ottawa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ottawa.