One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant balsam is to refer to the USDA zone info for Olmsted Falls.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You really shouldn't plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Olmsted Falls 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Olmsted Falls is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Olmsted Falls there is a last frost 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 Olmsted Falls

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 Olmsted Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Olmsted Falls.