One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for Salem should be looked at to determine when to plant caladium.

Planting Calendar for Caladium

Frost tolerance for caladium:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant caladium until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant caladium in Salem is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant caladium and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your caladium may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your caladium indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your caladium in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Salem.