Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant balsam by checking out the USDA zone info for Bensenville.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Bensenville 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 little bit earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bensenville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bensenville is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bensenville it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bensenville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

Plants to Grow in Bensenville

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