Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Gilberts you can figure out when it's a good idea 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 has passed.

You really shouldn't plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Gilberts 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Gilberts may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gilberts you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gilberts

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 Gilberts

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