When to Plant Scallions in Cambridge, MA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The USDA zone info for Cambridge can be used to figure out when you can plant scallions.


Planting Calendar for Scallions

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

Scallions are barely cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant scallions in Cambridge 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 scallions and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your scallions may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your scallions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Cambridge. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cambridge and it is different every year. Half of the time in Cambridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your scallions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cambridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Cambridge

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