The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Swarthmore you can estimate when to plant borage by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 Swarthmore 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. If you are starting your borage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Swarthmore. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Swarthmore

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Swarthmore

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