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

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

Planting Calendar for Violets

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

Since violets are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Wilmette 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. Any later than that and your violets may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your violets indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wilmette and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmette there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your violets if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmette

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 Wilmette

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