One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Merced you should be able to determine when it's the best time 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.

You can plant violas earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Merced 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. If you are starting your violas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Merced the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Merced is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Merced there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your violas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Merced

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 Merced

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