One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 way of determining when it's a good idea to plant salsify is to look at the USDA zone info for Bellwood.

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.

Since salsify are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Bellwood 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. If you wait any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your salsify indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bellwood and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bellwood you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your salsify if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bellwood

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 Bellwood

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