One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 determining when it's a good idea to plant heliotrope is to check out the USDA zone info for Wendell.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope require warm weather which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Wendell 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 really do well. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Wendell the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wendell and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Wendell it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wendell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Wendell

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