One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant chinese chives is to consult the USDA zone info for Montpelier.

Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

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

Since chinese chives are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Montpelier is March. However, you really should wait until April 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 August. Any later than that and your chinese chives may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chinese chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Montpelier. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Montpelier is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Montpelier there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your chinese chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Montpelier

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Montpelier

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