One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant balsam is to use the USDA zone info for Oak Grove.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Oak Grove 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 few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oak Grove. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oak Grove is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Oak Grove there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oak Grove

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 Oak Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Oak Grove.