When to Plant Balsam in Wharton, NJ

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Wharton it's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant balsam.


Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant balsam
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant balsam
Probably not a good time to plant balsam

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Wharton 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Wharton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Wharton may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Wharton last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wharton

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 Wharton

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