One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Libertyville you can determine when it's possible to plant balsam by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

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

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Libertyville 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Libertyville. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Libertyville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Libertyville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Libertyville

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 Libertyville

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