When to Plant Chives in Berlin, WI

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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 first chance to plant chives in Berlin should be figured out by looking at 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 quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chives
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chives
Probably not a good time to plant chives

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Berlin. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Berlin is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Berlin there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berlin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Berlin

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