One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Petersburg you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant chives by referring to 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.

Chives tend to make it in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Petersburg 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 grow to maturity. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Petersburg. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Petersburg may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Petersburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Petersburg

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 Petersburg

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