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

You should be able to determine when you can plant heliotrope by reviewing the USDA zone info for Gainesville.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Since heliotrope require warm weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Gainesville is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. If you wait any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Gainesville. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Gainesville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Gainesville it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

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