The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's possible to plant heliotrope is to use the USDA zone info for Providence.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Since heliotrope require warm weather you have to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Providence 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your heliotrope may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Providence the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Providence and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Providence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Providence

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 Providence

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