One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Riverbank can be looked at to figure out when it's the best time 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 mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Riverbank 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 grow to maturity. Starting your bee balm indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Riverbank. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Riverbank and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Riverbank you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your bee balm if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverbank

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 Riverbank

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