When to Plant Chinese chives in Caribou, ME

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant chinese chives is to look at the USDA zone info for Caribou.


Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

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

Since chinese chives are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 Caribou is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. If you wait any later than that and your chinese chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chinese chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Caribou. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Caribou and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Caribou you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your chinese chives if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Caribou

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Caribou

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