One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Salem you can determine when it's the best time to plant black eyed susans by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Black Eyed Susans

Frost tolerance for black eyed susans:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since black eyed susans require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant black eyed susans 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 black eyed susans and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your black eyed susans may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your black eyed susans indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. 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 not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your black eyed susans 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.