The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant balsam is to consult the USDA zone info for Pecos.

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 you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Pecos 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Pecos. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Pecos may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Pecos there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pecos

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 Pecos

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