One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Valparaiso can be reviewed to determine when it's possible to plant chinese chives.

Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

Frost tolerance for chinese chives:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since chinese chives do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Valparaiso 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 chinese chives and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chinese chives may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chinese chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Valparaiso. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Valparaiso and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Valparaiso you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chinese chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valparaiso

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 Valparaiso

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