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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant heliotrope is to look at the USDA zone info for Gaffney.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Gaffney. In the coldest months of winter you can 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 Gaffney and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gaffney last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gaffney

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Gaffney

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