One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant chives by referring to the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Since chives do well in cold 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 Madison 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. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Madison. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Madison is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your chives if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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