Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant balsam by reviewing the USDA zone info for Los Gatos.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Balsam do not do well in cold weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Los Gatos 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Los Gatos. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Los Gatos and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Los Gatos it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Los Gatos

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 Los Gatos

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Los Gatos.