When to Plant Bunching Onions in Metropolis, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant bunching onions in Metropolis should be estimated by using 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.

You can plant bunching onions slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Metropolis 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bunching onions may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bunching onions indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Metropolis. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Metropolis and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Metropolis you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bunching onions in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Metropolis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Metropolis

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