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 USDA zone info for Trinidad can be read to determine when you can plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Trinidad 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Trinidad the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Trinidad is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Trinidad you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Trinidad

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Trinidad

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