One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By using the USDA zone info for Excelsior Springs you will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You should not plant balsam until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Excelsior Springs 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Excelsior Springs. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Excelsior Springs is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Excelsior Springs it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Excelsior Springs

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 Excelsior Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Excelsior Springs.