One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant chinese chives is to examine the USDA zone info for Ephrata.

Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

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

Since chinese chives are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Ephrata 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chinese chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ephrata the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ephrata and it is different every year. Half of the time in Ephrata you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your chinese chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ephrata

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 Ephrata

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