When to Plant Balsam in Kodiak, AK

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Kodiak it's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant balsam.


Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost.

Balsam are not cold tolerant which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Kodiak 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 balsam and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Kodiak. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Kodiak is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Kodiak it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Kodiak

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Kodiak

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