The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant balsam by looking at the USDA zone info for Itasca.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Itasca 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Itasca is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Itasca there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Itasca

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 Itasca

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