One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Mansfield it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant violas.

Planting Calendar for Violas

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

Since violas are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Mansfield 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 really do well. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Mansfield. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mansfield and it is different every year. Half of the time in Mansfield you get surprised by a frost after March 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 Mansfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Mansfield

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