One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant heliotrope in Ojai should be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's probably not a good 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 Ojai 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Ojai. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ojai may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ojai there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ojai

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 Ojai

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