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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant bee balm by looking at the USDA zone info for Kankakee.

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 are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Kankakee 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. Any later than that and 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Kankakee the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Kankakee is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Kankakee last frost occurs 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 Kankakee

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 Kankakee

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