One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Bristol you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant balloon flower by using 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.

Balloon Flower tend to make it in very little cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant balloon flower in Bristol 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 fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your balloon flower indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Bristol is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Bristol it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your balloon flower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

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 Bristol

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