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 earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Owatonna can be figured out by referring to 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 mild cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Owatonna 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 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your lemon balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Owatonna. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Owatonna may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Owatonna last frost occurs after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lemon balm in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Owatonna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Owatonna

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