When to Plant Bunching Onions in Roanoke, VA

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

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Roanoke you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant bunching onions.


Planting Calendar for Bunching Onions

Frost tolerance for bunching onions: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Bunching Onions are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant bunching onions
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant bunching onions
Probably not a good time to plant bunching onions

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Roanoke 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 bunching onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your bunching onions may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your bunching onions indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Roanoke the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Roanoke may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Roanoke there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your bunching onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Roanoke

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Roanoke.