The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Lancaster you can figure out when it's the best time to plant chives by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives do well in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Lancaster 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lancaster the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Lancaster may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lancaster you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lancaster

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 Lancaster

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