The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant heliotrope in Selma should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's probably a bad idea to plant heliotrope until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Selma. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Selma is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Selma last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Selma

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Selma

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