One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Smyrna you can determine when it's a good idea 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.

You should not plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Smyrna 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 grow to maturity. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Smyrna the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Smyrna and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Smyrna there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smyrna

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 Smyrna

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