The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening 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 Winters.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Winters 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. Any later than that and 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 Winters. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Winters is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Winters you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Winters

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 Winters

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