When to Plant Chinese chives in Zone 4a

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.

You can determine when it's the best time to plant chinese chives in Zone 4a by looking at the USDA zone info.


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 other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Zone 4a 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chinese chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chinese 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 May 15 in Zone 4a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 4a and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 4a it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your chinese chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 4a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 4a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 4a.