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.

In Salem you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant coral bells by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Coral Bells

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

Coral Bells are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it is different every year. Half of the time in Salem you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your coral bells in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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