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.

The first chance to plant violas in South Houston can be determined by using 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in South Houston 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. Any later than that and your violas may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your violas indoors.

Last Frost Date

In South Houston the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for South Houston may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Houston you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your violas if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Houston

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 South Houston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Houston.