One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 Gretna it's possible to determine when it's possible to plant chives.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Gretna 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gretna and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Gretna you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gretna

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 Gretna

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