One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Athens it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant violets.

Planting Calendar for Violets

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

Violets can survive in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Athens 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your violets may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your violets indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Athens the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Athens is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Athens there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your violets if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Athens

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