One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 a good idea to plant balsam by reviewing the USDA zone info for Dallas.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Dallas 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 really do well. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Dallas. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Dallas may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Dallas it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dallas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Dallas

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