When to Plant Violets in Zone 3a

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You will be able to figure out when to plant violets by looking at the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.


Planting Calendar for Violets

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

Since violets do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant violets
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant violets
Probably not a good time to plant violets

The earliest that you can plant violets in Zone 3a is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant violets and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. You should expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3a and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your violets in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-40°F
Highest Expected Low-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.