The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when to plant chives is to check out the USDA zone info for Zone 3a.

Planting Calendar for Chives

Frost tolerance for chives:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since chives do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Zone 3a 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Zone 3a. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -40°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3a and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3a it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your chives if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-40°F
Highest Expected Low	-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.