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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Salem it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant cardinal flower.

Planting Calendar for Cardinal Flower

Frost tolerance for cardinal flower:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since cardinal flower do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Salem. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cardinal flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°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.