One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 violas in Muscatine should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

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 plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Muscatine 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. If you wait any later than that and your violas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Muscatine. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Muscatine is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Muscatine you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your violas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Muscatine

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Muscatine

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