One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

A way of figuring out when to plant violas is to look at the USDA zone info for Independence.

Planting Calendar for Violas

Frost tolerance for violas:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Violas do ok in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Independence 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your violas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Independence. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence 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 Independence it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your violas in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Independence

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