When to Plant Hardy Asters in Salem, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when to plant hardy asters in Salem by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Hardy Asters

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

Hardy Asters do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant hardy asters in Salem 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 hardy asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your hardy asters may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your hardy asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Salem is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your hardy asters if you have a 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.