Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

You can figure out when it's possible to plant lemon balm in South El Monte by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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.

Since lemon balm are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in South El Monte 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lemon balm may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lemon balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in South El Monte. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for South El Monte and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in South El Monte you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your lemon balm in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South El Monte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in South El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South El Monte.