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.

The first chance to plant balsam in Manlius can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's not a good idea to plant balsam until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Manlius. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Manlius

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Manlius

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