One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Shorewood you should be able to figure out 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.

Since chives are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Shorewood 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. If you wait any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Shorewood is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Shorewood it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shorewood

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 Shorewood

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