One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Itasca you can estimate when to plant lemon balm by using 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.

Lemon balm do well in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Itasca 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 lemon balm and expect a good harvest is probably August. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Itasca is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Itasca it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your lemon balm if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Itasca

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 Itasca

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