One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Dearborn Heights you can determine when it's a good idea to plant basil by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since basil do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Dearborn Heights is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant basil and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your basil indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Dearborn Heights the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Dearborn Heights is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dearborn Heights you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dearborn Heights

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 Dearborn Heights

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dearborn Heights.