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When to Plant Bee Balm in Council Bluffs, IA

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 first opportunity to plant bee balm in Council Bluffs can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


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 ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bee balm
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bee balm
Probably not a good time to plant bee balm

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Council Bluffs is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bee balm may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your bee balm indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Council Bluffs the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Council Bluffs you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your bee balm in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.