One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant asparagus fern by referring to the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus Fern

Frost tolerance for asparagus fern:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You can not plant asparagus fern until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus fern 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 asparagus fern and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your asparagus fern may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asparagus fern 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 should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Salem you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your asparagus fern in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.