One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant balsam is to look at the USDA zone info for Sioux City.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You should not 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 Sioux City 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Sioux City. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Sioux City is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sioux City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sioux City

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 Sioux City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sioux City.