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

By using the USDA zone info for New London you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant borage.

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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant borage in New London 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. If you wait any later than that and your borage may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your borage indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in New London. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for New London and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in New London there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your borage if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New London

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 New London

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New London.