When to Plant Violas in Waltham, MA

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You should be able to estimate when you can plant violas by reviewing the USDA zone info for Waltham.


Planting Calendar for Violas

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

Violas are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant violas in Waltham 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your violas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Waltham the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Waltham and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Waltham you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your violas if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waltham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Waltham

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