The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine 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.

A way of estimating when to plant borage is to look at the USDA zone info for Western Springs.

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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant borage in Western Springs 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. 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 Western Springs. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Western Springs is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Western Springs last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your borage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Western Springs

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 Western Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Western Springs.