One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant gerbera is to consult the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Gerbera

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

Gerbera are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant gerbera 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 gerbera and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your gerbera may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your gerbera indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Salem is an average and 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 always be ready to protect your gerbera if you have 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.