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.

The USDA zone info for La Porte can be read to determine when you can plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

You should not plant basil until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant basil in La Porte 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 basil and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your basil may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your basil indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in La Porte. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for La Porte is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in La Porte last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Porte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in La Porte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Porte.