One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Cairo you should be able to determine 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.

Chives tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Cairo 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. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Cairo. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cairo is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Cairo you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cairo

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 Cairo

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