One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 estimating when you can plant balsam is to examine the USDA zone info for Westbrook.

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 do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Westbrook 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

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

USDA Zone Info for Westbrook

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 Westbrook

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