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

The first chance to plant balsam in Macomb can be figured out 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Macomb 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 fully mature. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Macomb. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Macomb may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Macomb it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Macomb

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 Macomb

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