One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of figuring out when to plant balloon flower is to use the USDA zone info for Oceanport.

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.

Since balloon flower are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Oceanport 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 really do well. Starting your balloon flower indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Oceanport the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oceanport is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Oceanport you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your balloon flower in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Oceanport

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Oceanport

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