When to Plant Balsam in Zone 5b

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

In Zone 5b you can figure out when it's the best time to plant balsam by looking at 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant balsam until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant balsam
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant balsam
Probably not a good time to plant balsam

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Zone 5b 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 fully mature. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 5b the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5b and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 5b it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 5b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5b.