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.

In Rock Falls you can estimate when it's the best time to 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.

Borage do well in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant borage in Rock Falls 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 grow to maturity. 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Rock Falls. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rock Falls is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Rock Falls there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your borage in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rock Falls

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 Rock Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rock Falls.