One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

The USDA zone info for Salem should be read to figure out when it's possible to plant calendula.

Planting Calendar for Calendula

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

You can plant calendula a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant calendula 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 calendula and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your calendula may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your calendula indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Salem is not always accurate and 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 calendula 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 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.