One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Taft it's a good idea to determine when you can plant lemon balm.

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.

Lemon balm can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Taft 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. If you wait any later than that and your lemon balm may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your lemon balm indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Taft. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Taft is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Taft you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your lemon balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Taft

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 Taft

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