The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant heliotrope is to refer to the USDA zone info for Grand Ledge.

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 is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Grand Ledge 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. Any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your heliotrope indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Grand Ledge is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Grand Ledge last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Grand Ledge

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 Grand Ledge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Grand Ledge.