One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for Elgin it's possible to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

Since violets are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Elgin 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 really do well. If you are starting your violets indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Elgin. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elgin is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elgin you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your violets in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Elgin

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