When to Plant Parsley in Salem, MA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 you can plant parsley by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Parsley

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

Since parsley do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant parsley
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant parsley
Probably not a good time to plant parsley

The earliest that you can plant parsley 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 parsley and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your parsley may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your parsley indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Salem. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it is different every year. Half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your parsley in the event of 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 Low0°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.