One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Collinsville you can estimate when to plant chives by using 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 much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Collinsville 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. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Collinsville. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Collinsville is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Collinsville you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chives if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Collinsville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Collinsville

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