The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rusk you can estimate when it's possible to plant chives by using 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 Rusk 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. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Rusk. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Rusk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Rusk

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