One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant heliotrope is to examine the USDA zone info for Muskegon.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope are not cold tolerant which tells us that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Muskegon. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Muskegon is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Muskegon last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Muskegon

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 Muskegon

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