One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Cheboygan you can figure out when it's the best time to plant balsam by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You really shouldn't plant balsam until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Cheboygan 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cheboygan the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cheboygan is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cheboygan you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cheboygan

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cheboygan

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