One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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 will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant heliotrope by referring to the USDA zone info for Pontiac.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

Frost tolerance for heliotrope:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

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 Pontiac 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your heliotrope may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Pontiac and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Pontiac it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your heliotrope in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Pontiac

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Pontiac

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