When to Plant Chinese chives in Western Springs, IL

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.

The first opportunity to plant chinese chives in Western Springs can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

Frost tolerance for chinese chives: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Chinese chives tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chinese chives
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chinese chives
Probably not a good time to plant chinese chives

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Western Springs 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chinese chives may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chinese chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Western Springs. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Western Springs is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Western Springs you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chinese chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Western Springs

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 Western Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Western Springs.