One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first opportunity to plant balsam in Lincoln should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Lincoln 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. If you wait any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lincoln. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Lincoln is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lincoln there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lincoln

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 Lincoln

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