Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant balsam by using the USDA zone info for San Jose.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

Since balsam do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in San Jose 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 few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for San Jose is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in San Jose last frost occurs after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

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