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.

In Blue Island you can figure out when to plant bee balm 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 some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Blue Island 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 fully mature. Starting your bee balm indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Blue Island. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Blue Island may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Blue Island you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your bee balm in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Blue Island

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Blue Island

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Blue Island.