One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant bee balm is to look at the USDA zone info for Salem.

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.

Since bee balm are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Salem 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Salem 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 Salem last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bee balm in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

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 Salem

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