One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Salem it's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant chrysanthemum.

Planting Calendar for Chrysanthemum

Frost tolerance for chrysanthemum:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Chrysanthemum do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant chrysanthemum 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 chrysanthemum and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chrysanthemum may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chrysanthemum indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your chrysanthemum in the event of a surprise 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.