When to Plant Borage in Zone 1b

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant borage in Zone 1b by referring to 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant borage
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant borage
Probably not a good time to plant borage

The earliest that you can plant borage in Zone 1b is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant borage and expect a good harvest is probably July. If you wait any later than that and 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

In Zone 1b the average date of last frost happens on June 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -55°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 1b may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 1b it frosts late in the year after June 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your borage in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)July 15
Lowest Expected Low-55°F
Highest Expected Low-50°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -55°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -50°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1b.