One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Jacksonville you can determine when it's a good idea to plant balsam 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.

You can not plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Jacksonville 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Jacksonville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Jacksonville is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Jacksonville it frosts late in the year after February 15 so always be ready to cover your balsam if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Jacksonville

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