The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate 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.

In East Rockaway you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant balsam by looking at 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.

Balsam are not cold tolerant which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in East Rockaway 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 Rockaway the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for East Rockaway may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in East Rockaway last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Rockaway

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in East Rockaway

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