One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant bunching onions in Melbourne can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Melbourne 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 bunching onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your bunching onions may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bunching onions indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Melbourne the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Melbourne and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Melbourne last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your bunching onions if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melbourne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

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

Plants to Grow in Melbourne

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