One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 Lake Wales you can determine when you can plant basil by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

It's a bad idea to plant basil until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Lake Wales 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 basil and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lake Wales. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Lake Wales is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Wales it frosts late in the year after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your basil in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Wales

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Lake Wales

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Wales.