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

The best time to plant balsam in Red Bluff should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Red Bluff 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Red Bluff. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Red Bluff is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Red Bluff last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Red Bluff

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 Red Bluff

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Red Bluff.