One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 Arcata can be looked at to estimate when it's possible to plant violas.

Planting Calendar for Violas

Frost tolerance for violas:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Violas do well in cold which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Arcata 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 violas and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your violas may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Arcata is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Arcata you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your violas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

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 Arcata

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