One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of determining when it's a good idea to plant bee balm is to examine the USDA zone info for Bethlehem.

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 do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Bethlehem 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bethlehem. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bethlehem may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bethlehem you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your bee balm in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bethlehem

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 Bethlehem

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