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.

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant balsam is to check out the USDA zone info for Newton.

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 are not cold tolerant 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 Newton 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 really do well. 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Newton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Newton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Newton it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Newton

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