One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

The first chance to plant balsam in La Crescent can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You can not plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in La Crescent 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. If you wait any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in La Crescent. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for La Crescent is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in La Crescent there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Crescent

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in La Crescent

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Crescent.