One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant balsam by reviewing the USDA zone info for Jacksonville.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Balsam are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Jacksonville 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Jacksonville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Jacksonville is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Jacksonville there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Jacksonville

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