The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In California you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant lemon balm by reviewing 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 ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in California 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 lemon balm and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your lemon balm may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your lemon balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in California. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for California is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in California you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your lemon balm if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for California

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 California

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