When to Plant Salsify in Zone 5a

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can determine when it's possible to plant salsify in Zone 5a by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 5a 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 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Zone 5a. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5a it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your salsify if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

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 Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.