One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant balsam by using the USDA zone info for Ocean Springs.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

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

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Ocean Springs 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. If you wait any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your balsam indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ocean Springs. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ocean Springs is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ocean Springs it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ocean Springs

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 Ocean Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ocean Springs.