One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant balsam is to examine the USDA zone info for Bridgeview.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Bridgeview 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Bridgeview. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Bridgeview may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Bridgeview it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bridgeview

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bridgeview

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