The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant heliotrope is to look at the USDA zone info for Downey.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant heliotrope until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Downey 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 heliotrope and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Downey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Downey may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Downey it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

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

Plants to Grow in Downey

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