One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when to plant heliotrope is to use the USDA zone info for Jacksonville.

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 do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Jacksonville 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 few weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Jacksonville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Jacksonville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Jacksonville last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to cover your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jacksonville

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 Jacksonville

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