Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Salem you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant alternanthera by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternanthera

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

Alternanthera require warm weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Salem is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Salem you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your alternanthera in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Salem.