One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Marlin it's a good idea to figure out when to plant heliotrope.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Since heliotrope require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Marlin 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marlin and it is different every year. Half of the time in Marlin you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marlin

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 Marlin

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