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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Akron you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant bee balm.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Akron 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 really do well. 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Akron. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Akron is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Akron last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your bee balm in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Akron

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 Low	0°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 Akron

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