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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Ankeny you will be able to determine when it's a good idea 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.

Chinese chives do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Ankeny 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 grow to maturity. Starting your chinese chives indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Ankeny. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ankeny is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ankeny last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your chinese chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ankeny

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 Ankeny

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