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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant bee balm in Ephrata by reviewing 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 do well in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Ephrata 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. Starting your bee balm indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ephrata the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ephrata is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ephrata last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to protect your bee balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ephrata

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 Ephrata

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