One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of estimating when to plant heliotrope is to consult the USDA zone info for Luling.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant heliotrope until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Luling 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Luling the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Luling and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Luling it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Luling

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 Luling

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