When to Plant Borage in Zone 3a

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. 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 Zone 3a you should be able to figure out when it's the best time 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.

Borage do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

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 3a 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 borage and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your borage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your borage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3a you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your borage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.