Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Hillsdale it's a good idea 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.

Since heliotrope do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Hillsdale 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hillsdale. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Hillsdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Hillsdale

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