When to Plant Chives in Zone 1a

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

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant chives by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 1a.


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 are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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 Zone 1a is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chives and expect a good harvest is probably July. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on June 15 in Zone 1a. It might get as low as -60°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 1a and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 1a you get surprised by a frost after June 15 be ready to cover your chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 1a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 1a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)June 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)July 15
Lowest Expected Low-60°F
Highest Expected Low-55°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -55°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 1a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 1a.