The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant balsam is to consult the USDA zone info for Hamilton.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You should not plant balsam until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Hamilton 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hamilton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hamilton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hamilton it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hamilton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hamilton

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