One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first chance to plant bee balm in The Dalles can be figured out by referring to 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.

Bee Balm are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in The Dalles 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in The Dalles. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for The Dalles is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in The Dalles last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your bee balm in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for The Dalles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in The Dalles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Dalles.