One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant balsam is to look at the USDA zone info for Ludington.

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 because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ludington. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ludington may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ludington it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ludington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Ludington

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