Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Scottsbluff should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of 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 Scottsbluff 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. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Scottsbluff. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Scottsbluff is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Scottsbluff you get surprised by a frost 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 Scottsbluff

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Scottsbluff

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