When to Plant Balsam in Alhambra, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Alhambra should be reviewed to figure out when to plant balsam.


Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost has passed 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 Alhambra is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balsam and expect a good harvest is probably September. 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Alhambra. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Alhambra and it is different every year. Half of the time in Alhambra last frost occurs after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alhambra

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Alhambra

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