One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant balsam is to examine the USDA zone info for Norcross.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Norcross. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Norcross is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Norcross you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Norcross

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Norcross

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