One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when you can plant balsam by referring to the USDA zone info for San Diego.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's not a good idea to plant balsam until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in San Diego is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 fully mature. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in San Diego. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Diego may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in San Diego there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Diego

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in San Diego

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Diego.