When to Plant Balsam in Madisonville, KY

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first opportunity to plant balsam in Madisonville 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 has passed.

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant balsam
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant balsam
Probably not a good time to plant balsam

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Madisonville 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 grow to maturity. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Madisonville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Madisonville is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Madisonville it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madisonville

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 Low0°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 Madisonville

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