When to Plant Violets in Wilmington, IL

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 first opportunity to plant violets in Wilmington should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


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 a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant violets
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant violets
Probably not a good time to plant violets

The earliest that you can plant violets in Wilmington 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. Starting your violets indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Wilmington and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Wilmington you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your violets in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Wilmington

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 Wilmington

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