One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 best time to plant violets in Rapid City should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Violets

Frost tolerance for violets:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Violets do well in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Rapid City is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant violets and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your violets may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your violets indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Rapid City. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rapid City is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rapid City last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your violets in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rapid City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rapid City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rapid City.