Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In West Long Branch you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant balsam by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in West Long Branch 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 fully mature. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in West Long Branch. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for West Long Branch is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Long Branch you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Long Branch

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 West Long Branch

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Long Branch.