Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Franklin it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Franklin 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Franklin. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Franklin last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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