Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant tree onions in Iowa City should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tree onions

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

Since tree onions are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant tree onions in Iowa City 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 tree onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tree onions may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tree onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Iowa City. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Iowa City is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Iowa City you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tree onions if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.