When to Plant Borage in New Bedford, MA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for New Bedford you will be able to estimate 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 start planting them earlier than more sensitive plants.

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 New Bedford 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in New Bedford. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for New Bedford is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in New Bedford it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your borage if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Bedford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in New Bedford

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Bedford.