When to Plant Bunching Onions in Alpena, MI

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Alpena can be figured out by checking out 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.

Bunching Onions do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

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 Alpena 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. Any later than that and your bunching onions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your bunching onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alpena is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Alpena you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bunching onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Alpena

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 Alpena

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