When to Plant Borage in Council Bluffs, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs you should be able to estimate when to plant borage.


Planting Calendar for Borage

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

Borage tend to make it in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant borage
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant borage
Probably not a good time to plant borage

The earliest that you can plant borage in Council Bluffs 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. Any later than that and your borage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your borage indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Council Bluffs. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Council Bluffs you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your borage in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.