The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Eaton Rapids it's a good idea to determine when you can plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Balsam are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Eaton Rapids 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 grow to maturity. 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 Eaton Rapids. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Eaton Rapids

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 Eaton Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Eaton Rapids.