When to Plant Pearl onions in Godfrey, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Godfrey it's possible to estimate when to plant pearl onions.


Planting Calendar for Pearl onions

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

Since pearl onions do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Godfrey. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Godfrey may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Godfrey you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your pearl onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Godfrey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Godfrey

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