One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Lancaster can be reffered to in order to determine when to plant heliotrope.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant heliotrope until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Lancaster 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 fully mature. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Lancaster. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lancaster and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Lancaster last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

Plants to Grow in Lancaster

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