When to Plant Balsam in Johnstown, PA

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

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant balsam by using the USDA zone info for Johnstown.


Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam require warm weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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 Johnstown 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Johnstown 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.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Johnstown is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Johnstown it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Johnstown

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 Johnstown

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