The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant heliotrope by referring to the USDA zone info for Bristol.

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 because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Bristol 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Bristol. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bristol is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bristol last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

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 Bristol

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