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

In Columbus you can determine when you can plant violets by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Violets

Frost tolerance for violets:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Violets are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Columbus 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 violets and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your violets may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your violets indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Columbus the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbus is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Columbus you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your violets if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbus

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