One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Key West you can estimate when it's the best time to plant basil by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant basil until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Key West 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 basil and expect a good harvest is probably November. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Key West it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 45°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Key West and it changes from year to year. Since it never frosts in Key West you do not have to be ready to protect your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Key West

Here is the info for USDA Zone 11b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	45°F
Highest Expected Low	50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 45°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 50°F.

Plants to Grow in Key West

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Key West.