When to Plant Basil in Zone 2a

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

It's possible to figure out when it's possible to plant basil by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 2a.


Planting Calendar for Basil

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

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

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

The earliest that you can plant basil in Zone 2a 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 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your basil indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 2a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -50°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 2a and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 2a it frosts late in the year after May 15 so always be ready to cover your basil in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-50°F
Highest Expected Low-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2a.