One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Ishpeming it's a good idea to determine when 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.

Since chinese chives do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Ishpeming 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. Any later than that and your chinese chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chinese chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Ishpeming. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ishpeming is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ishpeming it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your chinese chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ishpeming

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ishpeming

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