One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for San Jose you will be able 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 moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in San Jose 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 salsify and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your salsify indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Jose. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Jose is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in San Jose it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your salsify in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°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 San Jose

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Jose.