Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

A common way of determining when you can plant balsam is to consult the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Mount Carmel 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to really do well. 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

In Mount Carmel the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mount Carmel you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Carmel

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 Mount Carmel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Carmel.