One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant borage by referring to the USDA zone info for Laurel.

Planting Calendar for Borage

Frost tolerance for borage:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since borage are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant borage in Laurel is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant borage and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your borage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your borage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Laurel. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Laurel is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Laurel last frost occurs after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your borage if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Laurel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Laurel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Laurel.