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

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant chives in Madera by reviewing 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 cold which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Madera 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. If you wait any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Madera the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Madera is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Madera you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madera

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Madera

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