One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Niles should be read to determine when to plant chives.

Planting Calendar for Chives

Frost tolerance for chives:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Chives do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Niles 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 is on April 15 in Niles. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Niles is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Niles you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Niles

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