Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant black eyed susans is to check out the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Black Eyed Susans

Frost tolerance for black eyed susans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Black Eyed Susans are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans in Salem is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant black eyed susans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your black eyed susans may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your black eyed susans indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Salem. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Salem is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Salem it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your black eyed susans in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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