When to Plant Tree onions in Durham, NC

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A way of making a decision about when to plant tree onions is to check out the USDA zone info for Durham.


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 do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant tree onions in Durham 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Durham. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Durham may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Durham last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tree onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Durham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Durham

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