One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Franklin can be used to figure out when it's a good idea 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.

You can plant chives a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Franklin 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. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Franklin. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Franklin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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