The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant pampas grass is to refer to the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Pampas Grass

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

Since pampas grass require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant pampas grass 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 pampas grass and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your pampas grass may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your pampas grass 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. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your pampas grass in the event of a surprise 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.