One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge can be read to figure out when it's the best time 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant borage in Chicago Ridge 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. If you wait any later than that and your borage may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your borage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Chicago Ridge. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Chicago Ridge there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your borage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.