Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 violets in Zone 8a can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Violets

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

Violets do ok in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant violets in Zone 8a 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 really do well. If you are starting your violets indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Zone 8a. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 8a you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your violets if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8a.