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

By looking at the USDA zone info for South El Monte it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant heliotrope.

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 require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in South El Monte 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. 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 little bit earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in South El Monte. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for South El Monte and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in South El Monte last frost occurs after January 31 be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South El Monte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in South El Monte

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South El Monte.