When to Plant Chives in Zone 7a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can determine when it's possible to plant chives in Zone 7a by using 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 a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 7a 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. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Zone 7a. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 7a is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 7a it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 7a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 7a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 7a.