One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Dubuque you can determine when to plant balsam by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Dubuque 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dubuque. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dubuque may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dubuque it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dubuque

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Dubuque

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