One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Madison you can figure out when it's the best time to plant tree onions by using 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 Madison 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 really do well. If you are starting your tree onions indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Madison is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Madison last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tree onions if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

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 Madison

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