The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant bunching onions by referring to the USDA zone info for Joliet.

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.

You can plant bunching onions slightly earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Joliet 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 grow to maturity. Starting your bunching onions indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Joliet. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Joliet is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Joliet there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your bunching onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Joliet

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 Joliet

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