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

It's possible to determine when to plant balsam by checking out the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Benton Harbor 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benton Harbor and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Benton Harbor you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton Harbor

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 Benton Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton Harbor.