Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when to plant balloon flower by looking at the USDA zone info for Lima.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Lima 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 Lima. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Lima is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lima last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your balloon flower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lima

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 Lima

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