Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden 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 estimating when it's a good idea to plant chives is to look at the USDA zone info for Franklin.

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 earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Franklin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Franklin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chives in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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