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.

In Long Beach you can estimate when it's the best time to plant balloon flower by reviewing 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 just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Long Beach 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. 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 Long Beach the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Long Beach may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Long Beach last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your balloon flower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Long Beach

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Long Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Long Beach.