One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's possible to plant violas by referring to the USDA zone info for Bay City.

Planting Calendar for Violas

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

Since violas do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Bay City 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. If you are starting your violas indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bay City the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bay City and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bay City you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your violas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bay City

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 Bay City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Bay City.