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.

In Cedar Rapids you can estimate when you can plant borage by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Borage

Frost tolerance for borage:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since borage do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant borage in Cedar Rapids is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant borage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your borage may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your borage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Cedar Rapids you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your borage in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

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 Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.