One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. 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 Artesia should be figured out by referring to 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.

Bee Balm are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Artesia 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. 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 few weeks earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Artesia. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Artesia and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Artesia you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your bee balm in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Artesia

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 Artesia

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