One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 Gautier you can determine when you can 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 when the weather gets warmer.

You should not 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 Gautier 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gautier. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gautier and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gautier there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your balsam in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gautier

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 Gautier

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