Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Marshalltown it's a good idea to estimate when you can 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 are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Marshalltown 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 violas and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your violas may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your violas indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Marshalltown. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Marshalltown and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Marshalltown you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your violas in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marshalltown

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 Marshalltown

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