One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 USDA zone info for Littleton can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time 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 means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Littleton 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Littleton. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Littleton is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Littleton you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Littleton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Littleton

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