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.

You should be able to determine when it's the best time to plant heliotrope by checking out the USDA zone info for Bradford.

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 Bradford 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. Starting your heliotrope indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bradford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bradford and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Bradford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bradford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bradford

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