One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant chives by checking out the USDA zone info for Rockford.

Planting Calendar for Chives

Frost tolerance for chives:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since chives do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Rockford 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 fully mature. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rockford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rockford is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockford there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rockford

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 Rockford

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