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.

You can determine when it's the best time to plant chives in Jefferson by checking out 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.

Since chives are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Jefferson 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Jefferson the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Jefferson may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Jefferson it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jefferson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Jefferson

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