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.

The USDA zone info for Carlinville can be reffered to in order to estimate when you can plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Carlinville 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Carlinville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Carlinville is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Carlinville you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carlinville

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 Carlinville

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