One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Livingston it's possible to estimate when it's possible 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.

Since balsam require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Livingston is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Livingston it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Livingston

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 Livingston

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