The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant chives is to use the USDA zone info for Marion.

Planting Calendar for Chives

Frost tolerance for chives:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Chives tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Marion 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Marion the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Marion may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Marion you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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