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

By using the USDA zone info for Hope it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant balloon flower.

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.

Balloon Flower are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Hope is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. Any later than that and your balloon flower may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your balloon flower indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Hope. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hope is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hope there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balloon flower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hope

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 Hope

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