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.

The USDA zone info for Helotes can be reviewed to determine when you can plant platycodon.

Planting Calendar for Platycodon

Frost tolerance for platycodon:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since platycodon are barely cold tolerant you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant platycodon in Helotes is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant platycodon and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your platycodon may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your platycodon indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Helotes. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Helotes is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Helotes it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your platycodon in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Helotes

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 Helotes

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