One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

You will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant heliotrope by looking at the USDA zone info for Placerville.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

Frost tolerance for heliotrope:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since heliotrope are not cold tolerant it's necessary to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Placerville 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Placerville. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Placerville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Placerville there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Placerville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Placerville

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