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

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant lemon balm by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 12b.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant lemon balm in Zone 12b is January. However, you really should wait until February 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 November. If you wait any later than that and your lemon balm may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your lemon balm indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 12b it never frosts. It might get as low as 55°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 12b may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 12b you do not have to be ready to cover your lemon balm if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 12b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 12b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	55°F
Highest Expected Low	60°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 60°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 12b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 12b.