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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant lemon balm is to refer to the USDA zone info for Cerritos.

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.

Lemon balm do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Cerritos 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. If you wait any later than that and your lemon balm may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lemon balm indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Cerritos. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cerritos may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cerritos you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your lemon balm in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cerritos

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 Cerritos

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