When to Plant Bee Balm in Princeton, NJ

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.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant bee balm is to look at the USDA zone info for Princeton.


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 a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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 Princeton 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Princeton. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Princeton and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Princeton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your bee balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Princeton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Princeton

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