One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 read to figure out when to plant iberis.

Planting Calendar for Iberis

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

Iberis are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant iberis 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 iberis and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your iberis may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your iberis indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your iberis if you have a surprise 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.