One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The USDA zone info for San Benito can be looked at to determine when to plant balsam.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You should not plant balsam until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in San Benito 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. Any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in San Benito. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Benito may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in San Benito it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your balsam if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Benito

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in San Benito

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Benito.