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 can determine when it's a good idea to plant violas in Springfield by referring to 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.

Since violas do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Springfield is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant violas and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your violas may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Springfield. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Springfield and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Springfield you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your violas if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Springfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Springfield

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