One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant balsam is to refer to the USDA zone info for Lathrop.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's 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 Lathrop 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Lathrop. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lathrop and it is different every year. Half of the time in Lathrop last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lathrop

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 Lathrop

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