One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Helena can be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant salsify.

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 do ok in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Helena 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your salsify may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your salsify indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Helena may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Helena you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your salsify in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Helena

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 Helena

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