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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Salem it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant california poppy.

Planting Calendar for California Poppy

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

California Poppy are barely cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant california poppy 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 california poppy and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your california poppy may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your california poppy indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Salem is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your california poppy if you have 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.