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.

The first opportunity to plant creeping phlox in Salem should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Phlox

Frost tolerance for creeping phlox:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant creeping phlox quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant creeping phlox in Salem 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 creeping phlox and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your creeping phlox may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your creeping phlox indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your creeping phlox in the event of a surprise late frost.

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.