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 earliest that you can plant bee balm in Mena should be figured out 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 barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Mena 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 bee balm and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bee balm may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mena. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Mena may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Mena there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your bee balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mena

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Mena

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