One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant heliotrope is to look at the USDA zone info for Firebaugh.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant heliotrope until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Firebaugh 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. If you wait any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Firebaugh. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Firebaugh is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Firebaugh you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Firebaugh

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 Firebaugh

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