One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant anchusa by looking at the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Anchusa

Frost tolerance for anchusa:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

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

The earliest that you can plant anchusa 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 anchusa and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your anchusa may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your anchusa indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit 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.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Salem is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your anchusa 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.