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.

The USDA zone info for Abilene should be reviewed to estimate when to plant chinese chives.

Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

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

Chinese chives are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Abilene 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. If you are starting your chinese chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Abilene may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Abilene there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your chinese chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Abilene

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 Abilene

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