One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when to plant heliotrope is to check out the USDA zone info for College Station.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

Frost tolerance for heliotrope:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since heliotrope do not do well in cold weather you really should wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in College Station 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in College Station. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for College Station may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in College Station last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for College Station

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in College Station

You may be interested in your other planting guides for College Station.