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.

The first chance to plant lemon balm in Gilbert can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Lemon balm

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

Since lemon 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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Gilbert 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 lemon balm and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your lemon balm may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your lemon balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gilbert. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gilbert is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Gilbert you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your lemon balm if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gilbert

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 Gilbert

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