One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Bloomington should be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

You really shouldn't plant heliotrope until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Bloomington 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

In Bloomington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bloomington is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bloomington you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Bloomington

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