One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's the best time to plant chrysanthemum is to check out the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's not a good idea to plant chrysanthemum until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum in Salem is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chrysanthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Salem. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Salem is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chrysanthemum in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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