One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's a good idea to figure out when it's the best time to plant chinese chives by using the USDA zone info for Clarinda.

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 other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Clarinda 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chinese chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Clarinda the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clarinda is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Clarinda you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chinese chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clarinda

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clarinda

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