One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant balloon flower in Riverside by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balloon Flower

Frost tolerance for balloon flower:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant balloon flower a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Riverside 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 balloon flower and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your balloon flower may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your balloon flower indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Riverside. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Riverside is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Riverside it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your balloon flower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverside

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Riverside

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