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.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Mattoon can be estimated by reviewing 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 start planting them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Mattoon 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. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mattoon the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mattoon is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mattoon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your violas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mattoon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mattoon

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