Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant balloon flower is to consult the USDA zone info for Anchorage.

Planting Calendar for Balloon Flower

Frost tolerance for balloon flower:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since balloon flower are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Anchorage 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 balloon flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your balloon flower may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your balloon flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Anchorage the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Anchorage is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Anchorage it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balloon flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Anchorage

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 Anchorage

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