One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Bristol you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant chives by checking out 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.

You can plant chives quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Bristol 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

In Bristol the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Bristol

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