The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Zone 9a you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant balsam by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

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

It's a bad idea to plant balsam until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Zone 9a 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Zone 9a. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 9a may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your balsam if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.