When to Plant Chives in Anamosa, IA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Anamosa should be determined by reviewing 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.

You can plant chives quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chives
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chives
Probably not a good time to plant chives

The earliest that you can plant chives in Anamosa 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 really do well. If you are starting your chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Anamosa. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Anamosa and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Anamosa you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Anamosa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Anamosa

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