One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant heliotrope in Sumter should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Sumter 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Sumter. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sumter is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sumter you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sumter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Sumter

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