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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Dumfries you will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant basil.

Planting Calendar for Basil

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

Since basil are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant basil in Dumfries 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dumfries. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dumfries and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Dumfries you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your basil if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dumfries

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Dumfries

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