When to Plant Chives in Saranac Lake, NY

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

You can determine when you can plant chives in Saranac Lake by using 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 start planting them much earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chives
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chives
Probably not a good time to plant chives

The earliest that you can plant chives in Saranac Lake 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Saranac Lake. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Saranac Lake is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Saranac Lake you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Saranac Lake

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 Saranac Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Saranac Lake.