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.

The first chance to plant bee balm in Vernon Hills can be estimated 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 well in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Vernon Hills 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. If you wait any later than that and your bee balm may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bee balm indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Vernon Hills. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Vernon Hills is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Vernon Hills it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your bee balm in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vernon Hills

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 Vernon Hills

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Vernon Hills.