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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for King City you should be able to determine when it's a good idea 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 do well in some cold which means 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 King City 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 really do well. Starting your bee balm indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in King City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for King City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in King City last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your bee balm in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for King City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in King City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for King City.