One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant balsam is to use the USDA zone info for Zone 12b.

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 all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Zone 12b is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balsam and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12b it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 55°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 12b is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12b you do not have to be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	55°F
Highest Expected Low	60°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 60°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12b.