One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Salem you should be able to estimate when you can plant lovage.

Planting Calendar for Lovage

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

Lovage are barely cold tolerant which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lovage 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 lovage and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your lovage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lovage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your lovage if you have one of those late frosts.

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.