Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Escondido you should be able to determine when it's possible to plant chives.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

You can plant chives much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Escondido. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Escondido is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Escondido last frost occurs after February 15 so always be ready to protect your chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Escondido

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Escondido

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