One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Oxford you can determine when to plant balsam by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Oxford 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. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Oxford. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Oxford is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Oxford you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oxford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Oxford

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