One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Salem can be reffered to in order to determine when it's a good idea to plant salvia.

Planting Calendar for Salvia

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

Salvia do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant salvia 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 salvia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your salvia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your salvia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few 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.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your salvia 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.