When to Plant Bee Balm in Duluth, MN

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Duluth you can figure out when to plant bee balm by using 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.

You can plant bee balm slightly earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bee balm
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bee balm
Probably not a good time to plant bee balm

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Duluth is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. If you are starting your bee balm indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Duluth the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Duluth and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Duluth there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bee balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Duluth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Duluth

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