Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Manhattan you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant chinese chives.

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 do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Manhattan 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Manhattan. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Manhattan is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Manhattan it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chinese chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manhattan

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 Manhattan

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