One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Indianapolis can be used to estimate when it's possible 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 are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Indianapolis 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Indianapolis. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Indianapolis is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Indianapolis there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Indianapolis

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 Indianapolis

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