When to Plant Salsify in Zone 3a

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible 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 can survive 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant salsify
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant salsify
Probably not a good time to plant salsify

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Zone 3a 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 salsify and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your salsify indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 3a 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 Zone 3a it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your salsify in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.