When to Plant Balsam in Indiana, PA

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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Indiana it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant balsam.


Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You should not plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant balsam
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant balsam
Probably not a good time to plant balsam

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Indiana 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. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Indiana. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Indiana 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 Indiana it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Indiana

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 Indiana

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