One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 first opportunity to plant balsam in Manassas can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Manassas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Manassas may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Manassas last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manassas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Manassas

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