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 Charlotte can be used to determine when it's the best time to plant heliotrope.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's a bad idea to plant heliotrope until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Charlotte 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 really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charlotte. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Charlotte is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Charlotte there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

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 Charlotte

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