One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Chino you will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam are not cold tolerant you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Chino 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in Chino. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chino is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chino there is a last frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chino

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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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 Chino

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