When to Plant Bee Balm in Escondido, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Escondido should be reviewed to determine when it's possible to 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 can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bee balm
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bee balm
Probably not a good time to plant bee balm

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Escondido 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. Any later than that and your bee balm may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bee balm indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Escondido the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Escondido may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Escondido you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bee balm in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Escondido

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Escondido

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