One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Zone 13a can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's the best time to plant heliotrope.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

Heliotrope do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Zone 13a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant heliotrope and expect a good harvest is probably November. If you wait any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your heliotrope indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 13a it never frosts. You should expect an average low temperature of 60°F in the coldest months of winter.

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 Zone 13a and it is different every year. Since it never frosts in Zone 13a you do not have to be ready to cover your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 13a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 13a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	60°F
Highest Expected Low	65°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 65°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 13a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 13a.