The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Washington you can determine when it's the best time to plant chives by looking at 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 do well in cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Washington 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. If you are starting your chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Washington. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Washington is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Washington you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Washington

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