One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Sauk Rapids you can determine when to plant chives by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Sauk Rapids 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Sauk Rapids. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sauk Rapids and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sauk Rapids you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sauk Rapids

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 Sauk Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Sauk Rapids.