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.

It's possible to figure out when you can plant ornamental grasses by using the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Ornamental Grasses

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

You can plant ornamental grasses a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant ornamental grasses 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 ornamental grasses and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your ornamental grasses may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your ornamental grasses indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your ornamental grasses if you have 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.