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

The first chance to plant bee balm in National City can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Bee Balm

Frost tolerance for bee balm:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

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

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in National City is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bee balm and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bee balm may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bee balm indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In National City the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for National City may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in National City you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bee balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for National City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in National City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for National City.