When to Plant Chives in Biddeford, ME

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to estimate when to plant chives by reviewing the USDA zone info for Biddeford.


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 quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant chives in Biddeford 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 couple of weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Biddeford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Biddeford there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Biddeford

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 Biddeford

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