When to Plant Balsam in Iron Mountain, MI

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when to plant balsam in Iron Mountain by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam do not do well in cold weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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 Iron Mountain is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Iron Mountain the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Iron Mountain may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Iron Mountain you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iron Mountain

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Iron Mountain

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iron Mountain.