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.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Rochester can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

Frost tolerance for chinese chives:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Chinese chives tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Rochester 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 chinese chives and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chinese chives may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chinese chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Rochester the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rochester is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rochester you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chinese chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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