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

You can figure out when to plant balsam in Olympia by using 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.

Balsam do not do well in cold weather which means that it is necessary 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 Olympia 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. If you wait any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to really do well. 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 Olympia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Olympia is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Olympia it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Olympia

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 Olympia

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