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.

In Scranton you can determine when it's possible to plant heliotrope by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Since heliotrope are not cold tolerant you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Scranton 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. Starting your heliotrope indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Scranton. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Scranton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Scranton you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Scranton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Scranton

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