Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Atherton can be looked at to determine when you can plant bee balm.

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 do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Atherton 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Atherton. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Atherton is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Atherton you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bee balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atherton

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 Atherton

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