One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 earliest that you can plant osteospermum in Salem can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Osteospermum

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

Osteospermum do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant osteospermum 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 osteospermum and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your osteospermum may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your osteospermum indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your osteospermum in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.