One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Zone 9a it's a good idea to figure out 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.

You can plant salsify just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Zone 9a is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant salsify and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your salsify indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Zone 9a. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9a is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 9a you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your salsify in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.