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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant balsam is to refer to the USDA zone info for Southlake.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You can not plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Southlake 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Southlake. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Southlake may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Southlake there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Southlake

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 Southlake

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