When to Plant Larkspur in Salem, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when it's possible to plant larkspur by using the USDA zone info for Salem.


Planting Calendar for Larkspur

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

Larkspur tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant larkspur 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 larkspur and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your larkspur may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your larkspur indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salem it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your larkspur 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.