Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant basil is to examine the USDA zone info for Claremont.

Planting Calendar for Basil

Frost tolerance for basil:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Basil are not cold tolerant which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Claremont 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. Any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your basil 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 Claremont. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Claremont is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Claremont there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Claremont

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Claremont

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