One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Salem should be reffered to in order to determine when you can plant creeping zinnia.

Planting Calendar for Creeping Zinnia

Frost tolerance for creeping zinnia:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Creeping Zinnia can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant creeping zinnia in Salem is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant creeping zinnia and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your creeping zinnia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your creeping zinnia indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Salem it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your creeping zinnia in the event of a 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.