When to Plant Salvia in Denver, CO

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant salvia by looking at the USDA zone info for Denver.


Planting Calendar for Salvia

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

Since salvia are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant salvia
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant salvia
Probably not a good time to plant salvia

The earliest that you can plant salvia in Denver 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 salvia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your salvia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your salvia indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Denver. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Denver and it is different every year. Half of the time in Denver last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your salvia if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Denver

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 Denver

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