One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when you can plant balsam is to check out the USDA zone info for Waverly.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Waverly 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 really do well. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Waverly and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Waverly you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waverly

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 Waverly

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