Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant violas by looking at the USDA zone info for Gurnee.

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 much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Gurnee 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 grow to maturity. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Gurnee the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Gurnee may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Gurnee last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your violas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gurnee

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 Gurnee

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