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.

In Albemarle you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant balsam by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

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

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Albemarle 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 really do well. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Albemarle. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Albemarle and it is different every year. Half of the time in Albemarle you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Albemarle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Albemarle

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