Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Shafter you can determine when you can plant heliotrope by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Shafter 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Shafter. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shafter and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

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 Shafter

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