One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Madison it's possible to determine when to plant salsify.

Planting Calendar for Salsify

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

Salsify tend to make it in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Madison and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Madison last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your salsify in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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