One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant salsify is to consult the USDA zone info for Bourbonnais.

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.

You can plant salsify just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Bourbonnais 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 fully mature. Starting your salsify indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Bourbonnais may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bourbonnais you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your salsify if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bourbonnais

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 Bourbonnais

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