One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for West Linn can be looked at to determine when you can plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in West Linn 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 fully mature. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In West Linn the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Linn and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in West Linn you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for West Linn

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in West Linn

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Linn.