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 looking at the USDA zone info for Torrington it's a good idea to determine when 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.

Balsam do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's important to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Torrington is May. However, you really should wait until June 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 really do well. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Torrington. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Torrington and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Torrington there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Torrington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Torrington

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