One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Ojai it's possible to figure out when it's possible 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.

Balsam are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Ojai 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. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Ojai. 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 just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ojai and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ojai it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ojai

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 Ojai

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