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.

In Salem you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant nicotiana by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

Frost tolerance for nicotiana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Nicotiana do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana 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 nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your nicotiana indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Salem may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your nicotiana 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.