One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 will be able to estimate when you can plant heliotrope by checking out the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope require warm weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your heliotrope 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.