One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can figure out when it's the best time to plant heliotrope in Steamboat Springs by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Steamboat Springs is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant heliotrope and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your heliotrope may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

In Steamboat Springs the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Steamboat Springs may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Steamboat Springs it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your heliotrope in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Steamboat Springs

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Steamboat Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Steamboat Springs.