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

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Zone 9b can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Heliotrope

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

You really shouldn't plant heliotrope until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant heliotrope in Zone 9b is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant heliotrope and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your heliotrope may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your heliotrope indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Zone 9b. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Zone 9b may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 9b it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your heliotrope if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 9b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9b.