One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Santa Fe can be reffered to in order to estimate when to plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's 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 Santa Fe 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Santa Fe. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Santa Fe may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Fe you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Fe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

Plants to Grow in Santa Fe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Fe.