🌿 When to Plant Chives
Perennial in zones 3+; divide clumps every 3-4 years
📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone
Chives is a cool-season crop — plant it around your last spring frost, and you can often start it earlier indoors or sow again for a fall harvest. Find the exact start-indoors, transplant, and direct-sow dates for your USDA zone in the table below.
Select your zone to highlight your dates. All dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates — see how we calculate them.
| Zone | Last Frost | Start Indoors | Transplant | Direct Sow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 2A | May 30 | Apr 4 | May 16 | May 16 |
| Zone 3B | May 15 | Mar 20 | May 1 | May 1 |
| Zone 4A | May 8 | Mar 13 | Apr 24 | Apr 24 |
| Zone 4B | May 1 | Mar 6 | Apr 17 | Apr 17 |
| Zone 5A | Apr 25 | Feb 28 | Apr 11 | Apr 11 |
| Zone 5B | Apr 18 | Feb 21 | Apr 4 | Apr 4 |
| Zone 6A | Apr 21 | Feb 24 | Apr 7 | Apr 7 |
| Zone 6B | Apr 10 | Feb 13 | Mar 27 | Mar 27 |
| Zone 7A | Apr 5 | Feb 8 | Mar 22 | Mar 22 |
| Zone 7B | Mar 28 | Jan 31 | Mar 14 | Mar 14 |
| Zone 8A | Mar 20 | Jan 23 | Mar 6 | Mar 6 |
| Zone 8B | Mar 12 | Jan 15 | Feb 26 | Feb 26 |
| Zone 9A | Feb 28 | Jan 3 | Feb 14 | Feb 14 |
| Zone 9B | Feb 15 | Dec 21 | Feb 1 | Feb 1 |
| Zone 10A | Feb 1 | Dec 7 | Jan 18 | Jan 18 |
| Zone 10B | Jan 15 | Nov 20 | Jan 1 | Jan 1 |
| Zone 11A | Jan 1 | Nov 6 | Dec 18 | Dec 18 |
Chives are one of the easiest and most useful perennial herbs, with mild onion flavor and pretty purple flowers.
Top Growing Tips
- Perennial in zones 3-10 — extremely cold-hardy
- Cut back to 2 inches regularly for continuous fresh growth
- Flowers are edible and beautiful in salads
- Divide clumps every 3-4 years to maintain vigor
- Excellent companion plant — deters aphids and other pests
Companion Planting
Good companions: carrots, tomatoes, roses, grapes
Avoid planting near: beans, peas
Harvest Timeline
Snip leaves to 2 inches above soil; regrows quickly
Growing chives in your region?
These dates come from your zone's frost windows. For the full month-by-month plan — succession sowing, variety picks, and timing tuned to your climate, not just your zone — our regional vegetable-gardening guides cover your area start to finish.
Find your regional growing guide