One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The USDA zone info for Arcata can be used to determine when to plant heliotrope.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

Frost tolerance for heliotrope:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Heliotrope require warm weather which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Arcata 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 heliotrope and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Arcata the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Arcata is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Arcata you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your heliotrope if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Arcata

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