One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

In Steilacoom you can determine when it's possible to plant heliotrope by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Steilacoom 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Steilacoom. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Steilacoom is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Steilacoom you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your heliotrope in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Steilacoom

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 Steilacoom

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