Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Sumter it's possible to figure out when it's possible 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.

Since bee balm do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Sumter 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 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 Sumter. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sumter may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Sumter you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your bee balm if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sumter

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 Sumter

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