Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant chives is to refer to the USDA zone info for Butner.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Since chives do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Butner 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Butner. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Butner and it is different every year. Half of the time in Butner you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Butner

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Butner

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