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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant impatiens is to use the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Impatiens

Frost tolerance for impatiens:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since impatiens require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Salem. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your impatiens if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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