The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Charlotte you can determine when it's possible to plant violas by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Violas

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

Violas do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Charlotte 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your violas indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Charlotte. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charlotte and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Charlotte there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your violas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charlotte

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 Charlotte

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