One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Indian Wells should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Indian Wells. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Indian Wells is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Indian Wells you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Indian Wells

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Indian Wells

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Indian Wells.