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.

The USDA zone info for Irving should be reffered to in order to determine when to plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Irving 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. 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

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Irving. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Irving is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Irving it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Irving

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Irving

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