One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when to plant balsam by looking at the USDA zone info for Valparaiso.

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 all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Valparaiso 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 really do well. 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

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Valparaiso is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Valparaiso you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Valparaiso

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