Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 Sonora should be used to estimate 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.

Since bee balm do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Sonora 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Sonora the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sonora and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sonora last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your bee balm if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sonora

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 Sonora

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