Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

You should be able to determine when to plant violets by referring to the USDA zone info for Urbana.

Planting Calendar for Violets

Frost tolerance for violets:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Violets do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Urbana 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 violets and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your violets may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your violets indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Urbana. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Urbana may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Urbana you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your violets if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Urbana

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 Urbana

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