Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

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

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

It's a bad idea to plant heliotrope until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Medical Lake 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your heliotrope indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Medical Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Medical Lake and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Medical Lake it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Medical Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Medical Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Medical Lake.