One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The USDA zone info for Abilene can be looked at to determine when to plant heliotrope.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope require warm weather which means that you have 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 Abilene 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 fully mature. Starting your heliotrope indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Abilene 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 the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Abilene and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Abilene it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Abilene

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 Abilene

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