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

In Lake Bluff you can figure out when it's the best time to plant pearl onions by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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.

You can plant pearl onions a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant pearl onions in Lake Bluff 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. Any later than that and your pearl onions may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your pearl onions indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lake Bluff. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lake Bluff is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Lake Bluff it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your pearl onions if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Bluff

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 Lake Bluff

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Bluff.