One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Midlothian you can figure out when you can plant chives 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.

Chives are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Midlothian 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 little bit earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Midlothian. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Midlothian and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Midlothian you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Midlothian

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 Midlothian

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