One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Hartford it's possible to estimate when it's the best time 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 earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Hartford 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hartford the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartford is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hartford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chives if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hartford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Hartford

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