One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Salem you can figure out when it's the best time to plant hosta by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Hosta

Frost tolerance for hosta:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Hosta are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant hosta 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 hosta and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your hosta may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your hosta indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Salem may not be accurate from year to year 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 always be ready to cover your hosta in the event of 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.