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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant rhubarb is to look at the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Rhubarb

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

You can plant rhubarb a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant rhubarb 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 rhubarb and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your rhubarb may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your rhubarb indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on 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 is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your rhubarb 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.