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.

In Evanston you can determine when it's the best time to plant bee balm by looking at 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.

You can plant bee balm a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Evanston 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your bee balm indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Evanston the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Evanston is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Evanston last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your bee balm in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Evanston

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