One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant violas by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 8b.

Planting Calendar for Violas

Frost tolerance for violas:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Violas tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant violas in Zone 8b 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 violas and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your violas may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your violas indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 8b may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 8b it frosts late in the year after March 15 so always be ready to cover your violas in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8b

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 Zone 8b

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