Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

One way of estimating when it's possible to plant balsam is to refer to the USDA zone info for East Orange.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You really shouldn't plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in East Orange 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

In East Orange the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for East Orange and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in East Orange last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Orange

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in East Orange

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Orange.