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.

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant violas is to look at the USDA zone info for Atascadero.

Planting Calendar for Violas

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

Violas tend to make it in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Atascadero 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. Any later than that and your violas may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your violas indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Atascadero the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Atascadero is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Atascadero you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your violas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Atascadero

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°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 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Atascadero

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