Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant balsam in Calistoga should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

You really shouldn't plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Calistoga 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 balsam and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Calistoga. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Calistoga is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Calistoga last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Calistoga

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Calistoga

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